Erin Giesbrecht, a visitor from the Yukon, issued a thank you via Facebook to members of Arrowsmith Search and Rescue, who helped her after she was injured on the Nile Creek Trail near Qualicum Beach on Tuesday.
“I am very grateful for your care and dedication in getting me out safely,” she said.
She said she was released from hospital with a “grapefruit-sized” ankle and a pair of crutches.
The rescue was made Tuesday, with the process to get Giesbrecht out taking about six hours along the tight, muddy trail which has many steep sections, the Arrowsmith team said on its Facebook page.
“Sunwest Helicopters attempted to assist but was unable to get close enough to the site, so a long and challenging stretcher carry out was required,” the page said.
Giesbrecht was transported to the nearest logging road where a utility-terrain vehicle was waiting. From there, she was taken to an ambulance on Highway 19.
Search teams from the Comox Valley, Nanaimo and the Alberni Valley helped out.
