LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Pinnacle Mountain State Park has more than 22 miles of trails and more than 14 miles of mountain bike trail-- along with those trails come some emergencies.
"Here at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, we do handle some of the highest numbers of emergency services calls of any state park," Cale Davenport, Assistant Superintendent for Pinnacle Mountain State Park said.
Those calls could range from a number of things spanning from heat exhaustion to something more extreme like what happened Tuesday night.
"A young man was attempting to ride a mountain bike in an area undesignated. It was not one of our mountain bike trails," said Davenport.
That 17-year-old, according to Davenport, entered through the Rocky Valley Trail.
After leaving the hiking trail not intended for mountain bikes, the teen crashed and fell, plunging 30 feet onto bare rock.
"Luckily the individual that had fallen was being cared for by bystanders," Davenport said.
Davenport was one of the first park rangers to get to the cliff where it happened and in total it took at least 30 first responders to rescue the teen.
It's a feat that they managed to pull off in less than three hours, using practice from their extensive training.
"I've trained in high angle rescue training in the state and in other areas," Davenport said.
That is training that not only state park rangers undergo, but local firefighters too.
"We get lots of different calls in, we don't know what it's gonna be," Captain Doug Coffman with Little Rock Fire Department (LRFP) said.
He said the LRFP has a special team known as the Urban Search and Rescue Team.
Those firefighters get extra training to make sure they are prepared when the unthinkable happens.
"They have various disciplines that they are hiring--rescue with ropes, water rescue, heavy machinery," Coffman said.
With the summer months near, people like Davenport know more people will be out on trails enjoying Arkansas' natural beauty.
He just wants hikers to think twice before putting themselves in a dangerous situation that could hinge on a complicated rescue mission.
"In areas that are very steep, we ask that visitors just use their common sense and use their best judgment," Davenport said.
He said you can visit the visitor center of any state park to know which trails you can travel on and which routes are off limits.