Outreach

Community Outreach

The Huntsville Cave Rescue Unit (HCRU) regularly volunteers it's time and resources for multiple venues. Whenever there are wilderness, cliff, rope work, or cave components to events, we are often there. We are always ready and able to assist in the event rescue and/or evacuation is necessary. Some examples of events we annually volunteer for are on this page and include fundraising for the Kids To Love Foundation, helping scouts, and monitoring trail runs. We also offer many courses, open to the public, with gear provided!

If you would like to request our services for your event, or wish to discuss how we could help you, please send us an email at info@hcru.org .

We also find it important to work with local First Responders and other rescue groups. Fostering good working relationships is important to provide expedient rescues in these hostile environments. As a professional unit, the HCRU strives to cooperate with our fellow rescuers and believes that by understanding each others roles in such situations we can use everyone's strengths to the most advantage, providing the best rescue possible.

Would you like to train with us, or learn more about what is involved in cave, cliff, or wilderness rescue? We offer NFPA 1006 and Alabama Fire College Certified classes. We can set up courses just for your department, and offer fire/rescue unit group discounts. Check out our rescue courses and/or email us!

Mountain Mist Trail Run

Date: January 28, 2023

Location: Monte Sano State Park

The Mountain Mist is an annual 50K Trail Run on Monte Sano. This is an extremely challenging course made up of steep rocky mountain trails, lots of mud, creek crossings, and over 3500 ft of climb. There is even a vertical climb that will require upper body usage. The HCRU works with the Huntsville Fire Department by providing volunteers to man the various aid stations along the race course, ready and able to assist in the event of injury, falls requiring extrication or vertical rescue, search for lost runners, and anything else that we can aid with.

McKay Hollow Madness Trail Run

Date: March 25, 2023

Location: Monte Sano State Park

The McKay Hollow Madness is an annual 25K Trail Run which is run on sections of the Sinks, Panther Knob, Stone Cuts, Mountain Mist, McKay Hollow, and other trails. It is a highly technical race with steep climbs and slippery descents. The HCRU mans both aid stations (in conjunction with the Huntsville Fire Department) at O'Shaughnessy Point and across from the Burritt Museum to quickly respond to any emergency that happens anywhere on the course.

Dizzy Fifties Trail Run

Date: November 18, 2023

Location: Monte Sano State Park

The Dizzy Fifties is an annual 50K Trail Run on Monte Sano. There are multiple loops: Northern which has Mountain Mist and Sinks trails, Southern which is on White Trail and near O'Shaughnessy Point, and a Little Loop. The Northern Loop has the most varied elevation. HCRU mans multiple checkpoints to facilitate quick response to any emergency that arises.