Our group of five were excited to be going on our first hike of the season at the St James track.

Day one was easy, but the second day was a longer, nine hour day. Despite the little bit of rain and trudging through boggy ground which tired us out, we arrived at the hut just before 6pm.

After the long day, my friend decided to sleep in the hut rather than setting up her tent. At around 8pm she went to grab something from her top bunk. As she jumped down from the bunk ladder, she slipped and landed with a crash on the bunkroom floor.

We expected her to get up quickly and laugh at herself. But that didn’t happen.

She stayed lying on the floor and told us her arm was really sore, and we quickly realized it was probably broken. She was groaning in obvious pain, experiencing hot and cold flashes and felt very nauseous.

At 8.20pm we made the decision to activate my ACR ResQLink400 PLB knowing there was probably only an hour’s light left in the day. We packed my friend’s bag and waited. It was a long night as we took turns providing comfort to her, stoking the hut fire and trying to get some sleep.

Just before 7am we heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter and then saw it emerge through the fog and land beside the hut.

As my friend was assessed by the SAR duo, I spoke to the helicopter pilot. He told me that my beacon was “a good one” and that it had been sending out a very strong signal. It was very reassuring to hear this.

My friend was taken by chopper to the nearby town and then by ambulance to the hospital two hours away. She later told us that not only had she fractured a bone in her shoulder, it was also dislocated.

She would not have been able to walk out from the hut. It would have been two days before we were able to reach either end of the track to find help. Having the PLB was invaluable.