Yellowstone hiker airlifted to hospital with third-degree burns after walking off-trail near Old Faithful

A 60-year-old hiker was burned by scalding water while walking off-trail in a thermal area at Yellowstone National Park on Monday, injuries which required her being airlifted to hospital by helicopter, the National Park Service (NPS) has announced.

The woman, from New Hampshire, was walking off-trail in the afternoon with her husband and leashed dog near Mallard Lake Trailhead at Old Faithful when she broke through a thin crust over scalding water and suffered second and third-degree burns to her lower leg, officials said.  

The woman and her husband went to a park medical clinic where they were evaluated. The woman was then transported via helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, which is about 90 miles away from the Wyoming park, for further treatment. 

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The husband and dog were not injured, officials said.

The NPS says visitors should stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution as the ground in these areas is fragile and thin with scalding water just below the surface. 

Pets are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas. 

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Water temperatures can exceed 400°F deep within the plumbing system of Old Faithful, the park’s most famous geyser. Geysers and other thermal features are evidence of ongoing volcanic activity beneath the park’s surface.

This is the first known thermal injury at the park this year, the NPS said. Monday’s incident is under investigation and no further information was provided.

The most recent thermal death occurred in July 2022 when a 70-year-old man from Los Angeles died in an unwitnessed incident at a hot spring in the West Thumb Geyser Basin. The man’s shoe was found floating in a hot spring weeks after he had disappeared. 

In June 2016, an Oregon man died after slipping and falling into a scalding hot spring while looking for a place to “hot pot,” the forbidden practice of soaking in one of the park’s thermal features.

Yellowstone is famous for its wildlife, scenery, geysers and hot springs, with more than 4.5 million people visiting the park in 2023.