New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers last weekend rescued two ill-prepared hikers from New Jersey on separate occassions in the heart of the Catskill Mountains.
On the night of Nov. 15, a 53-year-old native of the Garden State got lost on Mount Mink near the summit of Slide Mountain Hollow. The hiker’s phone battery died and they had no other navigation or light source.
The disoriented hiker had the good fortune of stumbling upon a group of hikers at the Mink Hollow lean-to who called 911 to request ranger assistance. A ranger came and guided the lost hiker out of the woods and then to Notch Lake.
At noon the following day, a 30-year-old asthmatic from New Jersey called 911 after having difficulty breathing near the summit of Slide Mountain.
A ranger made phone contact with the breathless hiker and learned that they didn’t bring an inhaler. Furthermore, the hiker was one of a group of eight hikers that had split into two groups of four: one experienced, one novice. The experienced hikers had left the novice hikers behind.
Two rangers set out to locate the group of inexperienced hikers, maintaining phone contact along the way while Big Indian Fire Dept. and Shandaken EMS responded to the trailhead. At 2 p.m., rescuers found the asthmatic hiker in good health.
Rangers suggest hikers and hunters bring light sources such as headlamps with extra batteries and not rely on phones for navigation and light. In the wilderness, cell phone batteries lose charge more quickly due to poor signal reception and temperature extremes.
The following reports are excerpted from DEC:
A 14-year-old from Glenville went missing on the afternoon of Nov. 12. Rangers joined the search after midnight, deploying a thermal-equipped drone to scope a wooded area near the teen’s house. The Scotia Police Dept. and Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office also joined the search. At 6:20 a.m., a roaming patrol car spotted the missing teen walking on Sacandaga Road. The teen said they found shelter in a barn to stay dry overnight.
Rangers conducted a field search exercise in the town of Horicon on Nov. 15. Nearly 100 members of local search and rescue teams, fire departments, and state police took part in the exercise, which coincided with the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of hunter Tom Messick. The original search lasted several weeks with 300 professionals and volunteers from more than 15 agencies. The recent training exercise focused on areas that could potentially reveal clues about Merrick’s disappearance.
DEC asks anyone who might have information about his disappearance call 1-833-NYS-RANGERS
