Two hikers, 70 and 76, died last week when a tree fell on them while hiking to Lena Lake in Olympic National Forest.
Jefferson County sheriff’s detective Sgt. Derek Allen identified the two women as 70-year-old Christine Mutchler and 76-year-old Kathy Pickard. Mutchler was airlifted by a search-and-rescue helicopter to Harborview Medical Center, but died from her injuries, Allen said. Pickard died at the scene.
A friend who was hiking with the women told the Kitsap Sun she was walking at the front of the group when she heard a crack, turned around and found her companions unconscious. A dead fir tree had broken off about 10 feet up.
The other woman was not injured and was able to hike down and call 911.
The Kitsap Sun reported the women were part of a group that would regularly ride a ski bus to Crystal Mountain. Pickard was a former fitness director at the YMCA and a retired radiology technologist.
Mutchler was well known in the local outdoors community from her active membership in the Kitsap Tri Babes, for which she would organize weekly bike rides and hiking trips, the Sun reported.
After last month’s atmospheric river, the U.S. Forest Service warned saturated soil can loosen the grip of a tree’s root system, leading to downed trees along roads and trails. The Forest Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
