An injured hiker scooted and crawled for roughly a half mile down Mount Moriah in New Hampshire yesterday before rescuers carried him for more than three miles down the rest of the mountain.
New Hampshire Fish and Game officials received a report of an injured hiker near the summit of Mount Moriah roughly four miles from the parking lot at 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 22.
The 42-year-old hiker from Connecticut was on the first day of a planned three-day hiking trip with three other companions when he slipped on a steep section of ledge near the summit and suffered a lower leg injury.
Unable to place weight on the leg or continue hiking, his hiking companions placed a call to 911 for assistance. A good Samaritan hiker, who had come upon the scene, used his skills to splint the injured leg and stayed with the injured hiker and his companions to assist.
Conservation officers and volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue and Lakes Region Search and Rescue responded to the scene. In all, 24 volunteers responded to the call.
While waiting for rescue crews to arrive, the injured hiker was able to descend via the Carter-Moriah Trail with assistance from his hiking companions and by scooting and crawling down the trail. He made it down 0.63 miles before the first members of the rescue team arrived.
The first rescuers reached the hiker at 6:15 p.m. Rescuers put his leg in a vacuum splint, and then placed him in a litter and carried him down the trail, arriving at the parking lot at 10:55 p.m.
The hiker was then transferred into an awaiting Gorham Ambulance where his injury was assessed, and he was ultimately taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin for treatment.
Officials said the injured hiker and his hiking partners were well prepared for a hike of this magnitude and had gear and supplies to stay out for several days.
