Honolulu firefighters were able to connect to a Mainland cell phone belonging to a lost hiker yesterday and airlifted her from a trail above the Pali Golf Course before darkness set in.

The 21-year-old University of Hawai'i student was hiking by herself on the Likeke Trail off of the Pali Lookout for about four or five hours when she got lost and dialed for help, fire Capt. Robert Main said.

"We were able to patch her Mainland cell phone into the incident commander, who talked to the helicopter to find her location," Main said. "We were able to find her pretty quickly."

Firefighters placed the woman in the helicopter's "Billy Pugh net" and flew her to the Pali Golf Course at 6:15 p.m.

The uninjured woman "did the right thing to call for help right away," Main said. "She had warm clothes, food, water and everything she needed if she got stranded to keep herself protected. She called early and stayed calm and stayed in contact with us. But we tell people to treat the forest with as much respect as you do the ocean. It's always best to go with a buddy."