Forest Rangers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation helped a hiker with a knee injury, provided support for an ultra marathon and responded to a report of a missing hiker in the Adirondacks this past week.

Knee injury

On July 22 at 11 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook dispatch received a call from a pair of hikers reporting that a member of their party was overdue from hiking Mount Marcy in the High Peaks Wilderness Area.

Forest Ranger Megan LaPierre responded to the Adirondak Loj parking lot in Lake Placid to interview the reporting party. At 1:36 a.m., LaPierre located the 33-year-old subject from New York City up the trail from Marcy Dam. The hiker had suffered a knee injury, was unable to walk, and was likely dehydrated.

The ranger splinted the injury and provided the hiker with warmth, food, and water. She escorted the hiker back to the outpost and set him up in a sleeping bag so he could rest while the ranger continued back to the Loj. LaPierre then drove a UTV in to pick up the subject, and at 4:45 a.m., the hiker was reunited with his party and taken for further medical care.

–

Wakely Dam Ultra Marathon

–

On July 24, Forest Rangers David Nally, Jason Scott and Bruce Lomnitzer, with an assistant forest ranger and Piseco EMS, provided event and emergency response support for the Wakely Dam Ultra Marathon.

The 60-person ultra-marathon began at Wakely Dam in the Moose River Plains Recreational Area, Indian Lake, and continued down the Northville Lake Placid Trail through the West Canada Lakes Wilderness Area, ending at the Piseco Airport in the town of Arietta. Forest rangers coordinated with race officials and prepositioned themselves in the interior of the wilderness, where they were able to assist and evacuate two injured race participants during the 10-hour race.

–

Missing hiker

–

On July 24 at 7:22 p.m., Forest Rangers Evan Donegan and Matthew Savarie responded to a call for help from a group of hikers on Buck Mountain in the Lake George Wilderness Area.

The hikers reported that while exploring the summit of the mountain, a 14-year-old hiker from Mahwah, New Jersey, walked away from the group and was missing. While rangers were hiking in to meet the party, the missing girl made her way off the mountain to a trailhead on the other side. Donegan met up with the group of hikers and escorted them off the mountain, reuniting them with the missing girl at 11:25 p.m.

–

Ranger notification

–

If a person needs a forest ranger, for a search and rescue or to report a wildfire, they can call 833-NYS-RANGERS. People in need of urgent assistance should continue to call 911.

Hikers should be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hike Smart NY and Adirondack Backcountry Information webpages for more information.