Rescue crews navigated nearly two miles of rocky, slippery terrain in the dark to carry an injured hiker down the Old Bridle Path in New Hampshire on Saturday.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, conservation officers received a report of an injured hiker on the Old Bridle Path in Franconia, New Hampshire at 10:20 p.m. on Saturday, October 25.
The hiker had reportedly suffered a leg injury after slipping on a wet section of trail. The injury prevented him from continuing without assistance.
Conservation officers and volunteers from the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team responded to the trailhead. By 11 p.m., the first rescuers started up the trail and reached the injured hiker at 11:45 p.m., 1.7 miles from the trailhead.
Shortly after midnight, the rescue party started down the trail towards the trailhead with over 20 rescuers participating in the rescue. Rescuers encountered snow at higher elevations, making the trail slippery.
Aided by the use of a rescue wheel that attaches to the litter, the team reportedly made good time to the trailhead, arriving at 1:25 a.m.
The injured hiker, a 17-year-old from Sudbury, Massachusetts, was met by family at the trailhead and taken for evaluation of his injury.
