A DEC trail sign at the junction of the Hunter’s Pass and Dix Mountain via Round Pond trails is seen on Jan. 18 in the town of Keene. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

NORTH HUDSON — An overdue hiker was found alive Thursday afternoon following an approximately 18-hour wilderness search in the remote and rugged Dix Range.

The rescue effort began at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday when the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Ray Brook dispatch center — which coordinates DEC search operations throughout the state — received a call from an individual reporting that her spouse was overdue in the Dix Range.

The person had planned a two-day hike and began on Tuesday, according to a DEC spokesperson, who identified the hiker as a 58-year-old from Mechanicville, but did not release their name or gender.

The spokesperson said that the last contact with the hiker occurred at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, approximately six miles from the planned ending spot — at which point the hiker said they were tired and moving slowly, though this location was not further specified.

Steady snow fell throughout Wednesday afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service’s Burlington, Vermont office — which serves Essex County — reporting that 4.3 inches of snowfall over the past 48 hours as of 8 a.m. Thursday in both Lake Placid and Olmstedville, which are about 20 miles north and south, respectively, of the Elk Lake trailhead. Accumulations are often greater at higher elevations.

At 9:50 p.m. on Wednesday, forest rangers located the hiker’s vehicle at the Elk Lake trailhead in the town of North Hudson — a common starting point for hikers attempting some or all of the mountains in the Dix Range, which is located in the southeastern part of the 275,460-acre High Peaks Wilderness. The range encompasses five High Peaks — Dix Mountain, Hough Peak, South Dix Mountain, Grace Peak (formerly East Dix) and Macomb Mountain.

In winter, public parking is further away from the trailhead, as a portion of Elk Lake Road, which provides access, is gated off. While this adds about 2.3 miles of distance each way for hikers, emergency rescuers can unlock the gate and get their vehicles directly to the trailhead, saving potentially crucial response time.

After the hiker’s vehicle was found, a team of seven forest rangers searched throughout Wednesday night with negative results, according to a DEC spokesperson. By Thursday, more than 20 forest rangers were participating in the search.

They were assisted by a State Police Aviation unit, which was able to insert rangers at high elevations, allowing them to continue a ground search while saving time and energy from having to hike up steep terrain. In addition to dropping off rangers, the aviation crew conducted aerial searches of the area throughout the day on Thursday.

At 2:55 p.m. on Thursday, a forest ranger search crew located the subject off of the Lillian Brook trail. They exhibited symptoms of mild hypothermia and frostbite, according to the DEC spokesperson. Subsequent medical treatment details were not provided as of press time Thursday.

The Lillian Brook trail is an unmarked path that connects the marked Hunter’s Pass trail — which runs from the Elk Lake trailhead to Dix Mountain — to the col, or low-point, between South Dix Mountain and Hough Peak. The Lillian Brook trail also has a cutoff that leads to the col between South Dix and Macomb mountains.

It can be a difficult trail to navigate in the winter, especially if there are no established tracks. Though the Lillian Brook trail can be a shortcut for hikers going to or coming from South Dix Mountain, Hough Peak or Grace Peak without having to first hike up and over either Dix or Macomb mountains — which are on the range’s northern and southern ends, respectively — the route tends to receive less traffic than the rest of the range’s trails.

That’s because hikers attempting those three middle mountains served by the Lillian Brook Trail will often do the Dix Range in one big loop. In doing so, they’ll typically hike up and over Dix and/or Macomb, skipping past the Lillian Brook trail in so doing.

The DEC did not state what the Lillian Brook trail’s condition was at the time of the rescue, nor did the agency provide an exact location or elevation where the hiker was found, though the spokesperson said the rescue reports were still being completed as of press time Thursday.