Hiker pleads for help via Fat Bear Week camera after getting lost in Alaska’s remote Katmai National Park
- The unknown hiker was spotted on camera on September 5 by viewers eager to catch a glimpse of bears
- The footage shows him pronouncing the words ‘lost’ and ‘help’
- Viewers alerted Explore.org, which organizes Fat Bear Week, and a team was sent to rescue the hiker
A panicked hiker stranded on a remote Alaskan mountain range was rescued after viewers watching a Fat Bear Week camera called officials to report him asking for help.
The unidentified hiker was spotted on camera set up on Dumpling Mountain in Katmai National Park on September 5, and although there was no audio, he could be seen saying the words “lost” and “help” several times.
“There’s someone in distress on camera,” one viewer wrote in the comments on Explore.org’s live cam.
Explore.org staff then notified their partners at the National Park Service.
Mike Fitz, a local naturalist at Explore.org and creator of Fat Bear Week, said: ‘The park sent a search and rescue team to find the hiker, who was caught in windy and rainy conditions with poor visibility.
“Park rangers found the hiker unharmed a few hours later and brought the hiker back to safety.”
The unidentified hiker was spotted on camera set up on Dumpling Mountain in Katmai National Park on September 5, and although there is no audio, he could be seen saying the words “lost” and “help” several times.
The unidentified hiker was spotted on camera set up on Dumpling Mountain in Katmai National Park on September 5 and although there was no audio, he could be seen saying the words “lost” and “help” several times.
Bystanders then saw a team of rangers emerge from the fog, locate the hiker and help him down the mountain.
“The weather there that day was really bad … about 50 feet of visibility and the weather at the top of the mountain is often much, much worse than what you find across the (Brooks) River,” Fitz said.
The hike from Brooks Camp requires an elevation gain of 800 feet over a distance of 1.5 miles, and there is no cell service in the area. The mountain also lacks adequate shelter and food.
Cameras are now focusing again on the brown bears along the Brooks River for the Fat Bear Week tournament.
Katmai National Park is known to host the Fat Bear Week tournament, where viewers vote annually before the hibernation season for the fattest brown bear in the park.
Katmai National Park is known to host the Fat Bear Week tournament, where viewers vote annually for the fattest brown bear in the park ahead of the hibernation season
Many bear lovers have already signed up to see the bears in their natural habitat on Dumpling Mountain and decide who to vote for
As Fat Bear Week 2023 kicks off in early October, many bear enthusiasts have already signed up to see the bears in their natural habitat on Dumpling Mountain and decide who to vote for.
Over the years, Fat Bear Week has become so popular that viewers increasingly access the video feed on Explore.org throughout the year.