New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers.
Essex County
Town of North Elba
Wilderness Rescue: On October 3rd at 1:45 pm, DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch was notified of a 26-year-old hiker from Brooklyn having seizures near Avalanche Pass in the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness Area. Four Forest Rangers, two Assistant Forest Rangers, and the Marcy Dam Caretaker responded to assist. At 2:12 pm, rescuers located the hiker, performed a medical assessment, and helped them back to the trailhead. At 4:13 pm, the hiker was turned over to Lake Placid Rescue for transport to a local hospital.
Town of Newcomb
Wilderness Rescue: On October 3rd at 2:09 pm, DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch was notified by the Lake Colden Caretaker that she was with a 68-year-old hiker from Vermontville displaying symptoms of hypothermia. Caretaker Kelly warmed the hiker and began escorting her toward the Marcy Dam Outpost. Forest Ranger Evans met the hiker at the outpost and continued to assist her out of the woods. They reached the trailhead at 5:32 pm.
Greene County
Town of Hunter
Wilderness Rescue: On October 2nd at 11:15 am, Central Dispatch received a call from Greene County 911 requesting Forest Ranger assistance with a 28-year-old hiker from Albany who was experiencing a seizure while hiking Huckleberry Point Trail in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest. Forest Rangers from Region 3 and 4 responded, along with Greene County EMS, and Tannersville and Cedar Grove volunteer fire departments. Forest Rangers and EMS staff located the hiker approximately 1.5 miles in from the trailhead. After a medical assessment, the hiker was packaged up and transported by UTV back to the trailhead where they were transferred to Hunter Ambulance for hospital transport. Resources were clear of the scene at 1:35 pm.
Town of Hunter
Wilderness Rescue: On October 3rd at approximately 3 pm, Greene County 911 requested Forest Ranger assistance at Kaaterskill Falls for a report of a hiker with a head injury. Forest Ranger Fox and Assistant Forest Ranger France were at the Laurel House trailhead at the time of the call and began searching for the hiker. Two additional Rangers responded to assist. The 61-year-old woman from India was located at the intersection of the middle pool and staircase trail, where had she tripped and fallen, sustaining a head laceration and left knee abrasion. Rangers assessed the subject for a possible traumatic brain injury and provided basic first aid to control the bleeding. No serious head injury was immediately observed and responders proceeded to walk the hiker back out to the trailhead at Laurel House Road. At 4:35 pm, the hiker was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Herkimer County
Town of Webb
Wilderness Search: On October 3rd at 5:09 pm, Forest Ranger McCartney received a call from Nicks Lake Campground staff reporting two lost hikers in the vicinity of Nelson Lake Outlet in the Black River Wild Forest. The husband and wife from Chittenango set out around noon to hike the 4.7-mile Nicks Lake Loop trail, when they changed their plans and attempted to complete the Nicks Lake Outlet trail, unknowingly adding 14 miles to their hike. The couple began to realize they were in trouble around 3 pm, but continued onward until they were off the trail and lost. They were both wet and didn’t have a source of light to help them navigate. The couple sent a photograph of a map from their smartphone showing their location near the outlet of Nelson Lake. Forest Ranger McCartney canoed downstream from the Nelson Lake trailhead on the Middle Branch of the Moose River to the vicinity of the lost hikers and made contact at 6:53 pm. Ranger McCartney shuttled the couple across the river to shore, where they hiked the railbed back to the trailhead and met Ranger Lt. Hoag for transport back to the campground.
Washington County
Town of Fort Ann
Wilderness Rescue: On October 1st at 6:53 pm, DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for assistance from two hikers who became disoriented while hiking Sleeping Beauty Mountain. The 65- and 69-year-old hikers from Long Island were on a trail, but were not sure which trail, as the trail markers were not the same color as the markers on their original trail. Neither hiker had headlamps, maps, food, water, or hiking equipment. At 9:40 pm, Forest Rangers Donegan and Arnold located the couple on the trail near Bumps Pond, approximately 1.5 miles from the trailhead. The Rangers provided the hikers with jackets, food, and water before escorting them to the trailhead. Forest Rangers and the hikers were back at the trailhead at 12:20 am.
Read past Forest Ranger search and rescue reports here.
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