A softball-sized rock hit a woman hiking along the Kuliouou Valley Trail this morning, causing her to fall roughly 30 feet, a Honolulu Fire Department spokesman said. 

The 53-year-old hiker was transferred in serious condition to a trauma center shortly after 9 a.m., Emergency Medical Services said. 

Strong wind and the location of the hiker prevented a fire rescue crew from using the department helicopter to remove her, so she was strapped into a Stokes basket and hiked out, Capt. Christopher Ah Mook Sang said. 

The woman, who was with a large group of hikers that frequent the trail, was about 20 minutes into her hike when the rock hit her, Ah Mook Sang said. 

When crews arrived, she was alert but had a cut on her head and was complaining of pain in her right shoulder, he said.