Rescue crews helped guide and carry an injured hiker down from close to the summit of Mount Hunger in Vermont on Sunday.
According to officials with Waterbury Ambulance Service in Waterbury, Vermont, rescuers from the Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team and Worcester Volunteer Fire and Rescue were called out just before 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 4 for a report of a 47-year-old female hiker with an ankle injury near the summit of 3,538-foot Mount Hunger.
Less than one hour later, rescue crews established a base in Middlesex at the bottom of the Hayward Trail and sent the first team of 15 members up the mountain with rescue gear.
Officials said that descending hikers confirmed the injured person was “near the top,” but trying to walk with help.
At 3:30 p.m., the first rescue team found the patient, and Waterbury EMTs administered medical care.
With the sun setting and temperatures dropping, rescuers helped the hiker to slowly walk down the trail under her own power. The descent reportedly took about one hour, with the final distance being covered with the hiker carried in a Stokes litter.
Officials reported that despite the late hour, and throughout the rescue, unprepared hikers were seen beginning their hikes in the late afternoon.
