It happens all the time. Lured into the wilderness by the promise of tranquility, a sense of accomplishment or a connection with nature, hikers wade into the Adirondack backcountry at all times of the year.

Whether you’re experienced or not, hiking will almost always pose some sort of risk. That’s why it’s important to not only be fully prepared and to be cognizant of trail conditions, but also be realistic about your abilities and your expectations for your trip.

And sometimes, despite all planning, things just go wrong.

Last week, forest rangers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation rescued a South Glens Falls woman who, despite being an experienced hiker, took a wrong turn and slipped hundreds of feet down a rock slide off the summit of South Dix Mountain. The hiker, Hope Lloyd, had already spent 12 hours hiking the mountain range when she fell. She was lucky enough to get cell service and call forest rangers for help, but ultimately spent a total of 25 hours in dangerous, frigid conditions.

Forest rangers Jamison Martin and Andrew Lewis deserve mountains of praise for their rescue efforts. They conducted themselves with bravery and perseverance, both marks of great forest rangers.

These rangers, and every other forest ranger in New York, deserve to have this state’s full support.

It’s an open secret that, much like many teachers in public schools, forest rangers provided with limited resources often supplement their supplies using money from their own pockets.

This should not be happening.

Lewis told the Enterprise that on rescues such as the one on South Dix, they bring lots of layers and equipment for themselves as well as supplies for the people they are rescuing.

In an interview with North Country Public Radio’s Emily Russell last year, one ranger said that they’d purchased about $4,000 worth of outdoor gear so far. Another ranger told NCPR that they’d bought a $400 pair of insulated mountaineering boots, far above the state’s annual boot stipend of $150.

Lewis, who has been a forest ranger since 2016, is part of a group of rangers that established the Forest Ranger Foundation this past August. The Forest Ranger Foundation is a nonprofit whose mission is to raise money for rangers’ training and gear. Thousands of dollars have been donated to the Forest Ranger Foundation since its inception. While we’re glad that forest rangers will receive more help, it’s unbelievable that these first responders would be put in this position.

The state must do better.

As Gov. Kathy Hochul prepares to make her State of the State address, and as the state Legislature moves into budget season, we hope that considerations for the state’s fleet of forest rangers do not fall through the cracks.

When lost and injured hikers call, forest rangers respond. We know we can rely on them. Forest rangers deserve to know that someone has their back, too. The state must respond to the calls from its own forest rangers and give them crucial training and equipment they need. In the end, it could be the difference between health and harm.