Hikers struggle with heat, dehydration this past week
Recent actions by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers in the Adirondack region:
High Peaks hike results in emergency air rescue
Town of Keene, Essex County: On July 29 at 6:56 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call about a 14-year-old from Camp Chingachgook who lost consciousness near the Elk Pass area of Nippletop Mountain. Forest Ranger Quinn spoke to a camp counselor on the phone and advised the counselor to move the teenager from Needham to the shade and aggressively cool off the subject with water. New York State Police (NYSP) Aviation was approved. NYSP Pilot Engel flew Rangers Lewis and O’Dell to a swamp near the campers. Rangers carried the 14-year-old through the swamp, which at some points was waist deep water and mud, to the helicopter. Pilot Engel flew the patient to an ambulance staged at Marcy Field. Ranger Quinn suggested the remaining campers spend the night and hike out in the morning because they were fatigued from a full day of hiking and did not have enough headlamps. The group later safely returned to camp. Resources were clear at 8:43 p.m.
READ MORE: Teen hiker rescued after suffering heat stroke in Adirondacks
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19-year-old with camps calls rangers
Town of Keene, Essex County: On July 29 at 7:51 p.m., Forest Rangers responded to the Leach Trail at Adirondack Mountain Reserve for a 19-year-old experiencing fatigue and cramping. Rangers reached the subject and assisted the hiker to their vehicle in the Reserve parking lot. The patient declined to seek further medical attention on their own. Resources were clear at 9:53 p.m.
Dehydrated hiker on Algonquin
Town of North Elba, Essex County: On Aug. 2 at 3:50 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a radio transmission from the Algonquin Summit Steward about a hiker suffering from dehydration and having difficulty walking. The 28-year-old from Owego was approximately 0.25 miles above the Wright-Algonquin intersection and did not have any food. The Summit Steward rehydrated the subject while Forest Rangers responded. At 5:17 p.m., Ranger H. Praczkajlo made contact with the hiker as they slowly made their way down. At 11:34 p.m., the subject began experiencing seizure activity at the Whale’s Tail Ski Trail junction. Five Rangers provided medical care and carried out the subject the last few hundred feet to a UTV. Rangers turned over the subject to Lake Placid EMS, who transported the patient to the hospital.
Man suffers injuries at Split Rock Falls
Town of Elizabethtown, Essex County: On Aug. 3 at 3 p.m., Essex County 911 requested Forest Ranger assistance with a hiker who had fallen into the first pool at Split Rock Falls. The 50-year-old from Peru, New York, suffered head and back injuries. Forest Rangers Bode, Lewis, and Quinn worked with New York State Police and the Keene and North Hudson Fire Departments to complete a high-angle rope rescue. At 5 p.m., rescuers turned over care of the hiker to Life Net, which flew the patient to the hospital. Photo at top from the rescue, provided by DEC.
Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information, and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.? ?
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If a person needs a Forest Ranger, whether it’s for a search and rescue, to report a wildfire, or to report illegal activity on state lands and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If a person needs urgent assistance, they can call 911. To contact a Forest Ranger for information about a specific location, the DEC website has phone numbers for every Ranger listed by region: http://on.ny.gov/NYSForestRangerRoster.
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