ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Local rescue crews say they are spending too much time pulling injured hikers off the popular trek to McAfee Knob.
It's not that they don't want to help injured people -- it's more a case of asking people to prevent those injuries in the first place.
"Living in Roanoke all these years I've never hiked to McAfee's Knob so after 65 years I finally made it and it's beautiful up here. We had a great day for it," hiker George Kesler said as he sat near the edge of the iconic overlook that makes the Knob the most-photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail.
Kesler's 65-year delay notwithstanding -- our local trails have never been more popular.
They are so popular in fact, that fire and emergency medical services personnel believe people are taking them a bit too casually.
Often, they are not taking the precautions they should for a day in the mountains.
"We want people to plan ahead when they go for a day hike. We want folks to look at the trail that they're planning on hiking how far it is how difficult it is. We want them to take water with them snacks. We want them to plan for the worst case scenario's," said Jennifer Sexton, a fire and EMS spokesperson.
"We're seeing a higher frequency of rescues on McAfee Knob especially. Just last week we had two rescues in one day. So it is a higher frequency and we want our citizens to be safe," she said.
The accidents haven't happened at the amazing overlook at the top of the famous hike. It's along the 7-mile round trip.
"The biggest challenge typically is the terrain. They get in the rocks and that's where they get hurt. They twist their ankles and fall and trip and that's a pretty substantial challenge for us," said Capt. Chad Wheeler, of Roanoke County Fire and Rescue.
And when that happens, said Wheeler, it ties up rescue crews who might then not be able to respond to fires or other ambulance calls.
The message is, don't take the local trails for granted.
Plan ahead. Wear the right clothes and shoes. Bring water. Then take your time and enjoy it.
"Like I tell my kids," Kesler said, "it's a marathon, not a sprint. That's how I look at hiking."