Hiker breaks leg deep in Great Smoky Mountains, waits a day for rescue, cops say

A hiker with a broken leg was forced to wait until the next day for rescue due to treacherous weather in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, officials say.

The accident happened Thursday, May 8, and it wasn’t until Friday that rescuers were able to reach the woman and carry her miles to the nearest road, the Tennessee Highway Patrol says.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the border along North Carolina and Tennessee, and troopers say the woman was on the Tennessee side of the park, “13 miles in on the trail near the Alum Cave Trailhead in Sevier County.”

“The woman, who suffered a fractured leg while hiking in a remote area, was initially stabilized by two EMT-certified park rangers who stayed with her overnight,” the highway patrol says.

“At first light, a specially trained trooper strike team deployed on foot and carried the hiker out using a rescue stretcher. She was transported to LeConte Medical Center in Pigeon Forge for further evaluation and is believed to be in stable condition.”

It took about seven hours from start to finish to rescue the woman, and the team covered more than 11 miles, officials said in a Facebook post.

The hiker’s identity has not been released and investigators have not said how she broke her leg.

Park officials say the injury was reported Thursday evening, and heavy winds, rain and hail made a safe rescue nearly impossible. Instead, rangers carried her one mile to the LeConte Lodge, a shelter reached only on foot.

The lodge is just west of the summit of Mount LeConte at an elevation of about 6,400 feet, the park reports. Mount LeConte is the third highest peak in the park at 6,593 feet.

“There are no roads that lead to the Lodge. There are five hiking trails that lead to the Lodge ranging in length from 5.0 miles up to 9.1 miles,” the National Park Service reports.

This story was originally published May 10, 2025 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Hiker breaks leg deep in Great Smoky Mountains, waits a day for rescue, cops say."