Crews carried the injured hiker over roughly 2.5-miles of difficult mountain terrain.
Rescuers raced falling temperatures and poor weather to help an injured hiker on Mount Washington last night.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, they received a report of a hiker who had suffered a lower leg injury while hiking the upper reaches of the Jewell Trail on Mountain Washington at 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 7.
The hiker, Karen Shaffer, 76, of Orange, California, had reportedly fallen multiple times and was unable to keep going without assistance.
Shaffer was still over 2.5 miles up the trail from the nearest road, with bad weather and dropping temperatures in the forecast. Given the conditions, conservation officers mobilized a rescue party.
Shortly after 6 p.m., rescuers began arriving at the Base Station of the Cog Railway. The first team of rescuers were on the trail with emergency gear at about 7 p.m.
By 8:25 p.m., the initial team made contact with Shaffer and her husband on the Jewell Trail at an elevation of about 5,000 feet.
Both hikers had reportedly been stationary for four hours, and rescuers worked to warm them up and dry them off.
Shaffer was treated for her injuries on scene and soon placed into a rescue litter. The rescue team began moving back down the mountain with Shaffer at 8:49 p.m.
In all, 15 volunteers from the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team and three conservation officers worked together to carry Shaffer out of the woods. The entire rescue party arrived safely roadside at 12:40 a.m. on the morning of Monday, September 8.
