A Minnesota resident in her 50s broke her ankle on Eagle Mountain in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness April 23 and needed to be rescued from the state’s highest point of elevation.

An emergency call was placed to Cook County 911 at approximately 2 p.m. Tuesday reporting the injury near the top of Eagle Mountain. The Eagle Mountain Trail is a 3.5-mile hike to the summit. At 2,301 feet, it is the highest point in Minnesota.

The woman injured had indeed broken her ankle, according to Karla Pankow, the emergency medical services director at North Shore Health. A total of 14 people responded from a half-dozen agencies to help the woman down from Eagle Mountain. A stretcher with wheels like that of bicycle tire was used to help get the woman down to a waiting ambulance at the trailhead near a road commonly referred to as “The Grade.” The woman was taken by ambulance to North Shore Health hospital in Grand Marais. She was treated and released several hours later, according to Pankow.

“Solid teamwork, communication, endurance, and determination resulted in a positive outcome for all involved,” she said.

Responders from the North Shore Health first responder team, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County Emergency Dispatch, Cook County Search & Rescue, Minnesota DNR, Forest Service, and Lutsen First Responders were all involved in the rescue.

Eagle Mountain is a popular hiking destination throughout the spring, though particularly now that the trail is mostly snow-free following a mild winter. The trail is also busy in the summer and fall. In October 2021, 78-year-old Minnesota resident Harold Hanson needed to be rescued from Eagle Mountain after suffering a heart attack. The incident happened to coincide with a tornado that rolled across the Boundary Waters that afternoon.

Pankow told Paddle and Portage that with waterfalls flowing on the North Shore, and people starting to put canoes back on the water in the BWCA, it’s important to recreate with an abundance of caution at this time of year. Cold-water drownings are one of the leading causes of death in the BWCA, and the ice came off most lakes in the Boundary Waters region within the past week.

Listen below to an interview with Pankow and Paddle and Portage’s Joe Friedrichs about this topic and to learn more about the rescue on April 23 from Eagle Mountain.