State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers responded to injured and unprepared hikers in treacherous icy, snowy and rainy conditions throughout the month, including a rescue by helicopter and several multi-day rescues.

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20-hour Marcy search

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Ray Brook dispatch received a call reporting an overdue hiker from New York City at 9:45 p.m. on Friday. The hiker, 33, was hiking Mount Marcy and Gray and Skylight Mountains.

The response began at 10:28 p.m. when forest ranger Robbi Mecus located the hiker’s vehicle at the Adirondack Loj. Meanwhile, rangers Matthew Adams and Nicole DuChene attempted to retrace the hiker’s itinerary, going up and over Mount Marcy and down to Four Corners. Mecus completed searching the trail and campsites to Lake Colden Outpost at 4:25 a.m., then went to climb to Four Corners with the Colden caretaker. Ranger Peter Evans served as incident commander for this rescue at the Adirondack Loj.

Fifteen additional rangers were sent out in the early morning due to the snowy conditions that could potentially hide the hiker’s tracks. Ranger crews were sent in from Elk Lake, Upper Works, the Garden Trailhead and the Adirondack Loj to perform a grid search on the Mount Marcy summit cone.

At 8 a.m., Mecus’s search crew located a single set of boot tracks near the Feldspar lean-to. The crew followed the tracks up the Lake Arnold trail and the north branch of the Opalescent Brook on the northwest face of Mount Marcy. At 10:10 a.m., more than 12 hours after the initial call came in, rangers found the hiker at 4,000 feet in elevation, with his clothes frozen to his body. Rangers changed the hiker’s wet clothing, fed him and provided warm liquids before walking him to the trailhead, where they were met by Lake Placid EMS at 3:25 p.m. The hiker was taken to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia and frostbite. Resources were clear at 5:07 p.m.

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Overdue hiker found

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Ray Brook dispatch received a call reporting an overdue hiker at 12:56 a.m. on March 17. The hiker, 57, was last known to be downhill from Grace Peak and had not been in contact for more than three hours. Forest ranger Peter Morehouse located the hiker’s vehicle at the Round Pond trailhead, and then Morehouse and ranger Jamison Martin hiked to the hiker’s last known location. They found her along the north fork of the Boquet River and helped her cross the water and return to the trailhead. Resources were clear at 1:50 a.m.

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Helicopter rescue

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Ray Brook dispatch received a call from the Clinton County Office of Emergency Services requesting forest ranger assistance with an injured hiker, 73, on the summit of Catamount Mountain at 12:51 p.m. on March 14. The hiker had injured her ankle and could not walk. Due to the severity of the injury and the hiker’s location, rangers requested State Police Aviation assistance.

Rangers Jenna Curcio and Joseph Ordway were lowered to the hiker. They then assessed and packaged the hiker for a hoist rescue. The hiker was flown to the hospital at 3 p.m.

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Unprepared hikers

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Ray Brook dispatch received a call reporting an injured hiker near the summit of Whiteface Mountain at 4:20 p.m. on March 9. When rangers reached the party of hikers, who were from Quebec, they determined that the injury was not serious, but that the hikers were not prepared for conditions. Two of the three hikers did not have traction for their boots, and all were wearing leggings without additional pants layers. They also did not have headlamps, navigational tools or water. Rangers helped the hikers back to the trailhead through heavy rain and drove them to their vehicle. They also educated the hikers about preparedness. Resources were clear at 6:55 p.m.

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Calkins Brook SOS

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Ray Brook dispatch received an SOS signal from a hiker, 70, in the Seward Range at 5:30 p.m. on March 3. Coordinates placed the hiker a half-mile north of the Calkins Brook herd path. Forest rangers Jenna Curcio and Robert Praczkajlo made contact with the subject at 8:45 p.m. and helped him back to the trailhead. Resources were clear at 11:30 p.m.

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Keene double rescue

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Rangers were called to two separate rescues in the Johns Brook Valley area on the afternoon of March 2. The two rescues were handled as one incident, with forest ranger Robert Praczkajlo serving as incident commander. Thirty rangers participated in the rescue.

Dispatch received the first call at 2:45 p.m., for a hiker, 61, who had suffered a lower leg injury on an icy trail on Saddleback Mountain about nine miles from the trailhead. The second call came in at 4:10 p.m., for a hiker, 38, who had injured his leg while sliding down an icy trail off Basin Mountain approximately nine miles from the trailhead.

Weather conditions prevented aviation-supported hoist rescues. Two teams of rangers embarked on icy carry outs. Ranger Andrew Lewis led a team for the first hiker and reached the rescue location at 8:44 p.m. The hiker had suffered a shoulder injury in addition to the leg injury. Due to steep conditions, rangers set up a high-angle rope system to get the subject to the summit from the trail. At 1:58 a.m., the carry team began moving the subject in a sled system down to the Ore Brook trail. Once they reached the trail, they transitioned to a backpack carry system.

Ranger Hannah O’Connor led a team to the second subject, reaching the hiker at 8:15 p.m. Rangers splinted the hiker’s leg and wrapped him in hypowrap to keep him warm during the carry out. They started with a sled system at 12:25 a.m. before later transitioning to a backpack system.

All rangers were clear by 12:30 p.m. the next day, more than 12 hours after they first reached the hikers.

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Injury on Wright

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Forest rangers Andrew Lewis and Robert Praczkajlo responded to a hiker who had slid down Wright Mountain and cut his leg at 7:30 p.m. on March 1. The hiker, 43, applied a makeshift tourniquet so he could continue hiking down the mountain with his hiking partner. The rangers met the pair and assisted them to a waiting ambulance. Resources were clear at 8:30 p.m.

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Pitchoff ice climber falls

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Ray Brook dispatch received a call about an ice climber on Pitchoff Mountain who fell and injured his hip at 1:20 p.m. on Feb. 20. The hiker, 73, was on the Jackrabbit Ski Trail off of Old Mountain Road. Seven forest rangers lowered the hiker using a rope system and stabilized him in a rescue toboggan. They attached the toboggan to a snowmobile and drove the patient to a Lake Placid ambulance waiting at the trailhead. Resources were clear at 4:10 p.m.