New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks.

Essex County

Town of Keene
Sentinel Range Wilderness
Unprepared hiker: On November 7, 2016 at 5:43 pm DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from the family member of a 25-year-old man from Lake Placid, NY stranded on Pitchoff Mountain. The hiker was not injured, but did not have a flashlight and his cell phone battery was dying. DEC Dispatch directed him to contact Essex County 911 to obtain coordinates and confirm his location. A DEC Forest Ranger responded and located the hiker in good health at 8:09 pm. The Ranger escorted him out to the trailhead and back to his vehicle. The incident concluded at 9:37 pm.

Town of Minerva
Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest
Lost hunter: On November 11, 2016 at 3 pm. A motorist flagged down by a hunter near the Stony Pond Trailhead contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch. The passing motorist stated that the hunter had become separated from his 14-year-old son and asked him to contact DEC Forest Rangers for assistance. Forest Rangers met the father and followed him to the last point where he had seen his son. Additional Rangers also responded and hiked in from other trail directions. An Environmental Conservation K-9 officer and his dog assisted one Ranger in the search. Responders located the teenager in the Lost Pond Area at 6:50 pm. They warmed him up and brought him out to a Ranger Patrol vehicle on Northwoods Club Road. Minerva EMS evaluated the boy and released him to his father. The incident concluded at 8:19 pm.

Clinton County

Town of Black Brook
Conservation Easement Lands – Potter Mountain Tract
Injured climber: On Sunday November 13, 2016 at 12:21 pm, DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a 23-year-old man from Short Hill, NJ reporting he fell approximately 30 feet off a ledge while attempting to climb the Hairy Upper Lip Drip. DEC Dispatch directed the man to contact Clinton County 911 to obtain his coordinates. The climber suffered injuries but was mobile. He and his companion managed to climb down from the ridge where DEC Forest Rangers met them. The Rangers transported him by vehicle to the trailhead and the man said he would seek medical attention on his own. The incident concluded at 3:22 pm.

Be Prepared: Properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety webpage and Adirondack Trail Information webpage for more information about where you intend to travel. The Adirondack Almanack reports weekly Outdoor Conditions each Thursday afternoon.