I’ll never forget the time I was rescued. Looking back, it was admittedly a result of a series of stupid moves performed flawlessly on many levels, but dumb mistakes are far too common for teenagers, especially when they are in groups.

It was the mid ‘90s when fueled by beer, hormones and a thirst for adventure, some friends and I went out fishing and somehow ended up taking turns jumping off a boulder into a lake. The aim had to be just right; if you missed the deep spot there was a chance you could slam feet first into huge rocks hidden beneath the water’s placid surface.  

I missed.

Pain jolted up my leg in a split second and I could barely keep my head above the water as I struggled closer toward the stony shoreline. Luckily, one of my friends had enough common sense to hike out and call for help.

In less than 40 minutes, rescue personnel reached my location and in what seemed an instant they placed me on a rescue litter and signaled their fellow team members to hoist me to the top of the stony overhang and to safety.

I’ll never forget that feeling of desperation as it changed to relief once I reached the top—I was rescued. I later found out I had shattered several bones in my foot and dislocated my knee.

Often young and inexperienced, people regularly underestimate the environment and fall victim to their own misjudgments. Such rescues are all too familiar to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David W. Smail of the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team.

Just last week, members of his team responded to a call where four boys had found themselves stranded on a ridgeline near Garcia Canyon Trail off of Highway 39. The group was hiking an unmarked trail and got stuck, said Smail.  

“If they didn’t have a cell phone we would probably still be searching for them,” he said.

Dressed in shorts, t-shirts and wearing sneakers, the four boys hadn’t told anyone where they were going and weren’t prepared for the reality of the mountain environment, he said.

Members of the mountain rescue team, which covers everything from the San Bernardino County line to Coqswell Dam to seven miles west of Highway 39, and from Highway 2 down to the foothills of West Covina, Glendora, Azusa and so forth, were dispatched to the area. They managed to spot the youths with binoculars but due to the inaccessible location of the group, the Sheriff's Air-5 Rescue chopper was flown in and managed to hoist the boys to safety.

Smail said it’s a scenario he sees often, people heading into the mountains unprepared, not knowing the area. “They look at it on a map and figure they can do the hike in a day,” he said.

What can look like a simple seven-mile hike on a map can be totally different because of the terrain in the San Gabriels, said Smail. Since the mountain ranges are made up of decomposed granite, a trail may appear easy but in fact, the hillside can give way.

First established in 1955, his team responds to about 50 call-outs in a typical week, which can range from lost hikers to vehicles over the side of the highway. To date, they are responsible for thousands of rescues and countless lives saved.

Members of the team are made up of reserve deputies and volunteers, all of whom go through extensive training, including a nine-month course in mountain rescue. The reserve deputies go through an 18-week sheriff’s academy, but they only make $1 a year for their efforts.

When asked why the team members do what they do, Smail said it’s the look on the family member’s face when they reunite with their loved ones.

“It's also the same with someone who is deceased,” he said. The shear act of finding them and/or rescuing them is the reward, he said.

In his 29 years of working in mountain rescue, Smail has had only two incidents where the people he was searching for were never found. However, they still cross his mind everytime he is out on a call. He recalled one particular case in 1995; a man in his late 20s. The team found his car and searched for a week but was unable to find him.  

Even after 17 years, the veteran rescuer still talks to the man’s family from time to time. The family calls to check in for any developments and to say "hello," he said.

“You always wonder where they are,” he said.

Looking back, I guess I was lucky. My friends managed to get help quickly and thanks to the responders, to whom I never expressed my full graditude, I avoided serious injury.

It’s a good feeling to know that women and men like Smail are out there; saving the young and foolish, and helping families find their loved ones. To Smail and all those involved in rescue, thanks for being there.

The San Dimas Mountain Rescue is an all-volunteer non-profit organization. To learn about the team, such as how to join or other ways to help, click here.