New York state forest rangers assist with U.S. Air Force training in Franklin County. (Provided photo — New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)

State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers made five backcountry rescues in the Adirondacks in the past week and also took part in two training sessions: one with various agencies preparing for swift-water rescues, and another with the U.S. Air Force.

DEC urges people to prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. DEC’s Hike Smart NY and Adirondack Backcountry Information webpages have more information that can be useful.

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Hurt hip at Lows Lake

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On Aug. 26 at 1:20 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a man reporting that his 73-year-old wife had fallen and injured her hip near the Lows Lake Upper Dam in the town of Colton, St. Lawrence County. Forest Rangers Benzel and Evans, Assistant Forest Ranger Woughter and Long Lake emergency medical services responded to assist. Woughter arrived on scene at 2:40 p.m. and, with a coordinated effort with Long Lake EMS, carried the injured woman, from Coram on Long Island, out to an ambulance that transported her to a local hospital for medical treatment.

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Young hiker injured

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On Aug. 26 at 3:20 p.m., Herkimer County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 13-year-old boy hiking with his father with an injured ankle on the summit of Bald Mountain in the town of Webb. Forest Ranger Candee responded to the scene along with the Webb Police Department and Old Forge fire and emergency medical services. Through a coordinated effort, responders carried the young hiker, from Frankfort in Herkimer County, to the trail and turned him over to Old Forge EMS for medical treatment.

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Swiftwater Task Force training

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On Aug. 26 and 27, the governor’s Swiftwater Task Force — which consists of State Police, the Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Park Police and DEC’s divisions of Law Enforcement and Forest Rangers — participated in general boat operation training at the confluence of the Sacandaga and Hudson rivers in the town of Lake Luzerne, Warren County.

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Thrown from a horse

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On Aug. 28 at 1:20 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for assistance for a 78-year-old woman from Lake George who was thrown from a horse at Pack Forest Trails in the town of Warrensburg, Warren County. Four forest rangers responded, arriving on scene at 1:40 p.m., and located the woman shortly thereafter. With the assistance of Warrensburg emergency medical services, rangers packaged up the injured woman and conducted a short carry-out to a waiting Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department all-terrain vehicle. The woman was then transported back to the gate and turned over to Warrensburg EMS for transportation to a local hospital for medical treatment. The incident concluded at 4 p.m.

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Kayaker rescued from Little Tupper

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On Aug. 29 at 9:10 p.m., a call came into DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch from three kayakers on Little Tupper Lake in the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area, in the Hamilton County town of Long Lake. The kayakers were asking for assistance for a woman in the group who injured her lower leg while on a hike earlier in the day. The group had made it to a nearby island before calling for help.

Forest Rangers Miller and Lewis respond to the Whitney Headquarters and then went to the boat launch, where the Long Lake Rescue Squad was staged to provide medical attention upon completion of the rescue. At 1:18 a.m., rangers arrived at the injured woman’s location and brought her back to shore. The 38-year-old from Buffalo was then transported to a local hospital for further medical treatment.

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Dislocated shoulder on Gothics

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On Aug. 30 at 10:24 a.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a series of calls from the International Emergency Response Center dispatch, the Adirondak Loj and hikers on Gothics Mountain reporting a 20-year-old-man with a dislocated shoulder was just below the summit.

Forest Ranger van Laer responded on foot from the Adirondack Mountain Reserve with the Johns Brook caretaker and Assistant Forest Ranger Raudonis. Rangers LaPierre and Praczkajlo responded to New York State Police Aviation base at the Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Clear to assist.

At 12:29 p.m., the aviation mission was aborted due to high winds and cloud cover on the mountain’s summit.

Caretaker Tyler reached the injured party at 1:24 p.m. The shoulder dislocation was successfully reduced, allowing the injured hiker to start walking down the mountain. At 4:15 p.m., the rangers and the subject were out of the woods. The injured hiker, from Ballston Lake, sought further medical treatment on his own.

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Air Force training

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The United States Air Force’s 20th Air Support Operations Squadron, stationed at Fort Drum near Watertown, recently conducted training on DeBar Mountain Wild Forest Area in Franklin County with the support of DEC’s Region 5 divisions of Lands and Forests and Forest Protection. The three-day training had the squadron working communication links in the field, as well as back to Fort Drum, while camping out and practicing survival training in the backcountry.