Rangers also had to search for three lost hikers who only had their phones for lights.
Forest rangers in New York had to search overnight last week for an overdue hiker who had hiked Mount Marcy without a light source.
Rangers received a call on Tuesday, October 14 at 9:30 p.m. from a concerned mother who said her daughter was overdue from hiking Mount Marcy and may not have a light source.
Three forest rangers responded. At 1:30 a.m., rangers located the 18-year-old’s vehicle at the Mount Van Hoevenberg Complex and then searched the trails from the trailhead and the Adirondak Loj to Marcy Dam.
At 6 a.m., a ranger located the hiker from Potsdam on the Van Ho Mountain Trail in good health but without an operational light source. The ranger escorted the hiker out of the woods and to their vehicle.
In another incident in which hikers didn’t have an adequate light source, rangers received a call at 8:21 p.m. on Friday, October 17 from three hikers who were lost and off-trail near Mount Van Hoevenberg.
The hikers were attempting to hike Cascade Mountain but got off trail. Their only light source was their phones.
At 10:55 p.m., rangers located the three hikers and escorted them to the trailhead.
In another search and rescue incident last week, rangers received a call at 11:01 p.m. on Friday, October 17 from a hiker who became separated from their spouse while hiking back to Adirondack Loj from Mount Marcy.
At 11:44 p.m., rangers located the 67-year-old from Connecticut and reunited the couple. Resources were clear at 12:42 a.m.
