The following are highlights of recent missions carried out by New York Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers between February 19 and February 25, 2018.

Town of Windham
Greene County
Mountain Rescue:
 On Feb. 19 at approximately 11 a.m., a 55-year-old father and his 14-year-old son from Wayne, N.J., were hiking to the summit of Blackhead Mountain. Upon reaching the summit, the father discovered the trail was covered with thick ice. He recognized that it was unsafe to descend in a timely manner. Without the proper equipment to spend the night, he contacted Greene County 911 Dispatch for assistance. Four Rangers responded to locate the pair, taking two different trail routes to the summit. At approximately 7 p.m., the duo was located and rescued. Rangers provided appropriate foot gear and assisted the father and son back to the trailhead, where they arrived by 10 p.m.

Town of Keene
Essex County
Mountain Rescue:
 On Feb. 24 at 4:28 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Bill O’Connor, caretaker for the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR). He reported that a 48-year-old man from New Vernon, N.J., suffered a lower leg injury when he lost his footing while descending Lower Wolf Jaw Mountain in the High Peaks Wilderness Area. O’Connor requested assistance back to the trailhead. Forest Ranger Daniel Fox was dispatched to the reserve with an ATV. At 6:15 p.m., Ranger Fox arrived and assessed the hiker’s injury. The Ranger assisted the subject back to Canyon Bridge where the ATV was staged, and then transported the man to his vehicle. The hiker decided to seek medical assistance on his own.