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Idaho Matters

Facing a medical emergency in the Sawtooth wilderness

Solo hiking can be a beautiful and peaceful experience, but when you face a medical emergency alone, its important to know the right steps to take.

Broadcast on:
20 Sep 2023

Jessica Mills sits under a tree.
Jessica Mills sits under a tree. ( Jessica Mills)

Imagine you’re hiking in the backcountry, say the Sawtooth wilderness, and you’re looking at all the beautiful sights when you start to feel out of breath - there’s a heaviness in your chest and your heart is racing. That’s what happened to Jessica Mills recently when one of her spectacular backpacking trips started to go sideways.

You may have seen Jessica, known to her fans as Dixie, in one of her amazing YouTube videos. It all started when she decided to hike part of the Appalachian trail.

Since then she’s hiked the Pacific Crest, the Continental Divide, even Kilimanjaro all with her camera in hand and she creates these amazing videos of journeys which are watched by thousands of people every trip.

But with her Sawtooth trip, Dixie went from hiking photographer to an example of what to do when you have a medical emergency in the backcountry. Dixie joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her experience.