Hiker medevaced to Whitehorse from Chilkoot Trail

A hiker with a suspected heart condition was medevaced to Whitehorse from the Canadian side of the Chilkoot Trail on Saturday.

The Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site runs 53 kilometres from the trailhead near Skagway, Alaska, to Bennett Lake in B.C. There is no road access on the Canadian side.

Elise Maltin with Parks Canada in Whitehorse says the person was lucky there were medical experts on the trail.

"[The medevac] was co-ordinated involving Parks Canada trail patrol, the Whitehorse air ambulance and hikers who included luckily a paramedic, an AMT, a nurse and some other assisting co-hikers," she said.

Maltin says the hiking group used a Chilkoot Trail emergency radio to call in the medevac request. A helicopter arrived Saturday evening to transport the hiker to Whitehorse General Hospital.

There is no word on the condition of the hiker.