Friends of Carpinterian and Santa Barbara County employee Sheila Hess have created a GoFundMe to support Hess as she recovers from a broken ankle, which she sustained on Jan. 31 during a hike along the Cold Spring Trail.
Hess and a group of her friends decided to hike up the Cold Spring Trail Loop and head towards Tangerine Falls, an area Hess had never hiked before. Different areas of the trail had been washed out by the winter storms. After the group began heading back down the mountain, they reached a steep inlet and began traversing down.
Hess planted her right foot and attempted to plant her left foot when the ground gave way, causing her to lose her footing and snap her right ankle. The injury left Hess stuck in an awkward position on the trail, and her friends immediately began working to contact emergency services. Despite a lack of cell phone service, Kimberly Fly was able to text 911, and emergency responders were in the area in about 20 minutes, Hess recalled…