Forest rangers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation took part in six wilderness rescues in the Adirondack Park this past week. Five of the rescues were of injured hikers — three for ankle injuries — and one was for a woman who got too cold while tubing on a river.

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Hurt ankle on Phelps

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On Wednesday, May 27 at 10:45 a.m., DEC’s Central Office Dispatch received a call requesting assistance for an injured hiker in the High Peaks Wilderness. The 26-year-old woman from Waterville had suffered an ankle injury near the Phelps Junction trail, approximately a mile from Marcy Dam in the town of North Elba. Forest Rangers James Giglinto, Kevin Burns and Tom Gliddi responded to assist, but a Ray Brook trail crew at Marcy Dam advised they were closer to the hiker and would proceed to her location.

The woman rolled her ankle after stepping from a rock into mud while her hiking group descended from the Phelps summit. She attempted to continue until she lost sensation in two of her toes and called for help.

Once the trail crew reached the woman, she was stabilized and assisted to Marcy Dam. The hiker reached Marcy Dam at 12:30 p.m., and Giglinto transported her out to South Meadow Road via UTV. The hiking group transported her to a local hospital for additional medical care.

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Lost, hurt hiking

Colvin, Blake

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On Wednesday, May 27 at 8:30 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus advising that she had spoken with a man reporting his wife lost on Mount Colvin in the town of Keene. The man said he last saw his wife on Colvin while he continued to Blake Mountain with his son. At this time, he believed his wife had started to hike back down without them. Mecus advised the man to give his wife some more time to get out of the woods and to call back if he hadn’t heard from her by 10 p.m.

Mecus advised Dispatch that the man called back at 10 p.m. and had still not heard from his wife. Forest Rangers Mecus, Benjamin Baldwin and Chris DiCintio responded to the Adirondack Mountain Reserve access for Colvin and Blake to search for the lost hiker. With the assistance of AuSable Club staff, Mecus made her way across the Lower AuSable Lake while Baldwin and DiCintio searched the Gill Brook and Gill Brook cutoff trails before reconvening and continuing up Colvin.

At 12:28 a.m. the next day, May 28, Mecus advised that she was with the hiker. The 52-year-old woman from Saratoga Springs had fallen, struck her head and was complaining of nausea when she was found. An AuSable Club employee, in a boat, picked up Mecus and the injured hiker and brought them back to the boathouse. Mecus then drove the injured hiker to the Adirondack Mountain Reserve gate, where she was turned over to Keene Valley emergency medical services and transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.

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Hurt knee on Armstrong

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On Thursday, May 28 at 4:10 p.m., Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch for a pair of hikers requesting assistance. The man and woman were hiking down the east side of Armstrong Mountain toward Beaver Meadow Falls in the town of Keene when the 24-year-old woman from Duanesburg injured her left knee. Per Forest Ranger Lt. Julie Harjung, Dispatch was asked to contact the hikers and instruct them to continue hiking down the mountain, where they would meet Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus on Lake Road. From there, Mecus would give them a ride out to the trailhead.

Dispatch was unable to reestablish contact with the two hikers, so Mecus proceeded into the woods to find them. At 5:57 p.m., Mecus located the couple at the Beaver Meadow Falls bridge, escorted them out to her vehicle, and gave them a ride to their vehicle.

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Hurt ankle on Adams

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On Sunday, May 31 at 1:34 p.m., a hiker on Adams Mountain in the town of Newcomb called DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 56-year-old woman from Peru, New York, with an ankle injury just below the steep summit. The hiker was reportedly still trying to progress downhill with assistance from her hiking party but was unable to put any weight on the injured leg.

Forest Rangers Sarah Bode, Evan Donegan, Jamison Martin and Logan Quinn responded, with one ranger bringing an all-terrain vehicle. The hiker had progressed a bit farther when rangers located her at 4:17 p.m. The rangers assisted her to an awaiting ATV for transport to a ranger vehicle, which then brought her to the Newcomb Rescue Squad before being transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.

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Hurt ankle

on Blue Mountain

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On Sunday, May 31 at 1:47 p.m., a hiking group on Blue Mountain in the town of Indian Lake contacted DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 16-year-old girl from Herkimer with a non-weight-bearing ankle injury. Forest Rangers Melissa Milano and Bruce Lomnitzer, along with Assistant Forest Ranger Allison O’Connell, responded to the trailhead.

The hiker was reportedly continuing down the trail with the assistance of her hiking party when forest rangers reached them at 3:35 p.m. Once the ankle was assessed and splinted, rangers and members of the Blue Mountain Lake Volunteer Fire Department and rescue squad assisted the hiker down the trail and were out of the woods at 5:03 p.m. EMS personnel assessed the girl, and she advised she would seek additional medical treatment on her own.

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Too cold to tube

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On Sunday, May 31 at 2:17 p.m., Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch requesting assistance for a group tubing the Schroon River in the town of Schroon outside of Ticonderoga. The group was unable to continue their 2-mile trip between bridges after a 25-year-old woman from Fort Ann began displaying symptoms of hypothermia.

Using the coordinates obtained through 911, Forest Ranger Logan Quinn responded and located the group at 3:16 p.m. Quinn escorted the group back to their vehicles, where they declined medical assistance and left.