On Saturday, March 9 at about 4:20 pm, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a hiking party reporting an individual with an ankle injury near the summit of Whiteface Mountain in the town of Wilmington, Essex County.
When Rangers reached the three hikers from Quebec, they found that although the injury was not serious, the hikers were ill-prepared for conditions.
Only one of the three had traction for their boots and all were wearing leggings without additional pants layers. In addition, the hikers didn’t have headlamps or navigational tools and were out of water.
Rangers helped the trio back to the trailhead through the pouring rain before providing a courtesy ride to their vehicle. Rangers educated the hikers about preparedness and checking the weather before their next adventure.
As the Whiteface Mountain rescue was coming to an end on Saturday, at about 6:40 pm, the caretaker at Elk Lake Lodge in the town of North Hudson (part of the southern access to the Adirondack High Peaks), called for Forest Ranger assistance for hikers in distress at the Slide Brook lean-to.
At 7:20 pm, Rangers determined the hiking group was actually in the Dix Mountain Wilderness and one of the hikers, a 29-year-old from Rochester, was suffering from nausea.
Rangers reached the hikers at 10:25 pm and helped them through blizzard conditions back to the trailhead. The rescue was completed at about midnight.
Read past Forest Ranger search and rescue reports here.
