A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew has rescued an injured backpacker. The Tehama County Sheriffs Department requested H-16 to assist with the search and possible rescue of an overdue hiker in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness. The hiker had activated his spot tracker GPS device and the helicopter responded directly to the coordinates provided. The crew immediately located the hiker in a creekbed with steep terrain on both sides of the creek. H-16 landed in an open area about a mile away and configured the helicopter for a hoist rescue. It returned and lowered a flight officer/paramedic to the creekbed. The hiker had injuries due to a fall on the steep terrain. H-16 hoisted the hiker’s backpack, then the hiker and flight officer together. The helicopter was then reconfigured for a medevac. The patient was flown to Mercy Medical Center. The helicopter rescue saved search and rescue personnel multiple hours of hiking to the patient’s location, multiple hours of extrication of the patient back to the trailhead, and approximately 3 hours of drive time by ground ambulance to a hospital.