Recent DEC Forest Ranger Actions in the Adirondacks
Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: While hiking on her day off on Sept. 20, Forest Ranger Temple encountered a hiker from Florida who sustained a lower leg injury near the summit of Indian Head on the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Ranger Temple contacted DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch at 1:45 p.m. requesting additional Ranger assistance as well as New York State Police (NYSP) Aviation due to the severity of the injury to the 53-year-old woman’s leg. Six Forest Rangers responded to her location, along with NYSP Aviation, and at 3:30 p.m., the injured hiker was hoisted into the helicopter and transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Resources were out of the woods and clear of the scene at 4:15 p.m.
Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On Sept. 20 at 9:42 p.m., Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch from a group of hikers reporting two members of their party were overdue from hiking Giant Mountain. They were last seen at 6:45 p.m. on the trail headed towards Roaring Brook Falls and reportedly only had food and their cell phones with them. Forest Rangers Quinn and Evans responded to assist. At 10:15 p.m., Ranger Quinn arrived on scene determined the two women from Syracuse were last seen at the ladder section below the junction of the ridge trail. Neither hiker had any lights and their cellphones were dead. At 11:10 p.m., Ranger Quinn found the hikers approximately 1.5 miles from the trailhead. He provided them with headlamps and escorted them back down the mountain where they met Ranger Evans, who was searching another section of the trail. At 12:01 a.m., the hikers were reunited with their group.
Town of Wells
Hamilton County
Wilderness Rescue: On Sept. 21 at 1:20 p.m., Hamilton County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 69-year-old hiker from Albany fell and struck her head on the Auger Falls Trail. Forest Ranger Miller along with Lt. Kerr and the Town of Wells Fire and EMS responded to assist. Once on scene, Forest Rangers and EMS walked the hiker out of the woods to the trailhead where she was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Resources were clear of the scene at 2:30 p.m.
Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On Sept. 23 at 3:32 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a 74-year-old hiker from New Jersey advising that he became disoriented coming off of Wright Peak in the High Peaks Wilderness and was not sure how to get back to the Adirondak Loj. At 4:58 p.m., Assistant Forest Ranger (AFR) Leff found the hiker at the junction for Wright and Algonquin mountains. The hiker thought he was hiking Wright Peak, but was actually on Algonquin. While on the summit, a passing group of hikers pointed him in the right direction. At 7:20 p.m., AFR Leff escorted the hiker out of the woods and back to the Adirondak Loj.
Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On Sept. 25 at 1:18 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for Forest Ranger assistance for a 53-year-old man from Boston, New York, with a hip injury on Algonquin Peak. Assistant Forest Ranger Leff and Marcy Dam Caretaker Engel responded to the location, along with Forest Rangers Mecus and Curcio with a six-wheeler. Once on scene, Rangers performed a medical evaluation, found the injury to be non-weight bearing, and requested NYSP Aviation for extrication. At 4:50 p.m., NYSP Aviation arrived on scene with Forest Ranger Benzel acting as crew chief and the hoist mission was completed. The injured hiker was transported to a local hospital and all units were clear of the incident at 7:15 p.m. Link to DEC video of the rescue on DEC’s YouTube page.
Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.
If a person needs a Forest Ranger, whether it’s for a search and rescue, to report a wildfire, or to report illegal activity on state lands and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If a person needs urgent assistance, they can call 911. To contact a Forest Ranger for information about a specific location, the DEC website has phone numbers for every Ranger listed by region.
Posted: September 28th, 2021 under Adirondack Region News, Law Enforcement News, Northern NY News.