New York Forest Rangers Respond to Five Backcountry Rescues in One Week
New York Forest Rangers responded to five separate backcountry rescues across the Adirondacks over the span of week last week, assisting hikers dealing with everything from getting lost to broken bones.
The string of incidents began on June 4th when a 39-year-old hiker from Green Island texted 911 after becoming lost on Crane Mountain in Warren County. Forest Ranger Donegan used coordinates provided by the county to locate the hiker on the southwest side of the mountain. The hiker had no medical issues and enough water, and Donegan bushwhacked down to the lower trail with them before walking them back to the trailhead.
The next day, Forest Rangers Ellis and Shea responded by boat to a hiker on the Dog Pond Loop of the Cranberry Lake 50 Trail in St. Lawrence County. The hiker could not continue due to severe blisters. Rangers located the subject and their partner and transported both back to land and then to their vehicle.
On June 6th, a 49-year-old hiker from Vermont suffered an ankle injury about a mile from the summit of Buck Mountain in Washington County. Pilot Knob Fire Department and Queensbury EMS staged a UTV partway up the trail, then hiked the remaining distance with Rangers Clute, Morehouse, and Quinones. The team used a wheeled litter to carry the hiker to the UTV before Queensbury EMS transported them to the hospital.
That same day in Essex County, two 18-year-old hikers needed rescue near Indian Falls. One, from New York City, was stung by a bee and experienced facial swelling that was already subsiding when Rangers arrived. Another hiker from Long Island City requested help for a broken finger. Rangers assisted both back to their vehicles.
On June 7th, a 25-year-old hiker from Fairport suffered an unstable ankle injury at the summit of Grace Peak in the Dix Mountain Wilderness. Two other hikers helped them off the summit before Rangers met the group, splinted the injury, and helped the hiker back to the trailhead, where they planned to seek medical care on their own.
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