A missing hiker sparked a two day search effort in Kachemak Bay State Park earlier this week.
Amandine Testu took a water taxi from Homer to the state park last Friday. She originally planned to hike to Haystack Rock. When she missed her pick up time the following Monday afternoon, the water taxi company contacted the park rangers.
Alaska State Parks Chief Ranger Jason Okuly said they had done a search and rescue on the trail system she was on before where the Wosnesenski River had a blowout.
“It was a vast area and a high probability of somebody getting lost, turned around, and especially if they took any of the connecting trails around Moose Valley trying to do Coalition Loop or just trying to go hike the Wosnesenski River Trail,” he said.
Okuly coordinated with Alaska State Troopers and Friends of Kachemak State Park to organize a search and rescue team. A team of volunteers went looking for Testu on Tuesday. Kachemak Emergency Services also lent a drone to help in the search.
Testu eventually turned up yesterday morning. Okuly says she followed the Wosnesenski River Trail to China Poot Bay and took a canoe to Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge.
He said this is the second search and rescue case in the park this year. Okuly strongly recommends people to check trail reports before going to the park, and to be prepared for overnight stays, even if you’re only planning a day trip.
He said there is no dedicated search and rescue organization for the state park.
“Once you get on that boat and you are leaving the harbor, you are no longer in any type of proximity to an easy rescue or an easy hike,” Okuly said, “Anything that happens across the bay is kind of an incident. It requires a lot of logistical planning for anybody to come get you or help you.”
Trail reports are updated weekly and can be found on the Alaska Department of Natural Resources website.
