On the afternoon of May 19, a 37-year-old woman from Peru, New York, was badly injured after a 20-foot fall on Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, in the Adirondacks.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers located the injured hiker approximately two-thirds of a mile up the trail. A New York State Police helicopter was called in to assist rangers with the rescue.
Four rangers stabilized the injured hiker and packaged her into a litter. Another ranger hoisted her aboard the helicopter for transport to the hospital.
Ranger Praczkajlo with an injured hiker aboard a state police helicopter. The hiker was hoisted off a trail near Upper Wolf Jaw Mountain in the Adirondacks.NYSDEC
Rangers were busy on the weekend of May 25-26, 2024:
- A hiker was injured on a trail approximately one-half mile from Upper Wolf Jaw Mountain. A ranger harnessed the subject on the ground while another ranger hoisted her aboard a state police helicopter which flew her to the hospital.
- A ranger helped police and fire personnel recover the body of a suicide victim in the village of Lowville. The body was turned over to the Lewis County Coroner.
- Two hikers in their twenties called their parents in distress from the Cranberry Lake 50 trail, complaining of dehydration and leg cramps. A ranger met the pair on the Brandy Brook trail and escorted them to the trailhead.
- A 67-year-old fell off a horse on the Otter Creek Horse Trails in Lewis County, injuring their head, neck, and back. Rangers got the rider to an ambulance.
- A person was injured in an ATV accident in Lewis County. A ranger applied a tourniquet to control the bleeding from the rider’s lower leg before they were transported by air to the hospital.
- A 48-year-old hiker from Camillus injured her wrist two miles from the Heart Lake Information Center. A ranger helped her to the trailhead.
- Two hikers got lost in Wonder Lake State Park. A ranger walked them back to the trailhead.
- An 11-year-old from Webster got separated from a group descending Whiteface Mountain. Rangers located the lost child and reunited him with his hiking party.
- A 23-year-old from New Jersey with muscle weakness and leg cramps called for help on Wittenberg Mountain. Unable to stand on his own, other hikers gave him food and water as he waited for rangers to guide him of the mountain. DEC reminds hikers to eat and drink prior to attempting a difficult hike.
A truck got stuck in on the beach at Ausable Point Campground on May 27. Rangers ticketed the driver for not using a state boat launch, and their truck was towed.NYSDEC
A truck got stuck in on the beach at Ausable Point Campground on May 27 after the driver attempted to launch their boat from the foot access to the beach. Boats may only be launched from designated boat launch sites. The driver was ticketed and their truck towed.
A 56-year-old and his son set out on May 23 in kayaks in the Zoar Valley Unique Area, paddling with a large group from the North Otto Road access point to Gowanda. But the pair decided to cut their trip short and called for help. Rangers provided navigation and lead them out of the gorge area to the trailhead.
A hiker was hit in the head by a falling rock at Rainbow Falls on the afternoon of May 20. Rangers helped stop the bleeding and guided the hiker to the Adirondack Mountain Reserve trailhead where he drove himself to seek further care.
On May 20, rangers assisted state police in a search for a despondent 57-year-old from Pittstown last seen at her residence the previous night. Rangers conducted linear searches along Route 7 and eventually found the woman about 600 feet from Phillips Road. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Rangers hoist an injured hiker aboard a state police helicopter. The hiker was one of two hikers injured on May 14 while hiking at the bottom of a waterfall off Quarry Hill trail at Taconic State Park.NYSDEC
Two hikers were injured on May 14 while hiking at the bottom of a waterfall off Quarry Hill trail at Taconic State Park. A 28-year-old from LaGrange with an arm injury walked out on her own. A 33-year-old from Poughkeepsie with a suspected head injury was pulled out of the water by EMS, who determined she had suffered a hip injury as well. Rangers assisted in a high-angle rope rescue. The hiker was flown to the hospital.
On the afternoon of May 15, a motorist in the village of Wurtsboro flagged down a ranger for help with another motorist who had been ejected from a vehicle that crashed down an embankment. The injured motorist was unresponsive but had a pulse. The ranger began rescue breathing until EMS arrived with supplemental oxygen. Local police and fire personnel helped carry the patient out of the woods to an ambulance.
On May 18 at 1:45 a.m., a ranger ticketed a camper at Long Pond State Forest for playing music too loudly during established quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
A 44-year-old mother and child from Cohoes got lost while hiking on Buck Mountain on the night of May 18. A ranger reached the pair shortly after midnight and guided them back to the trailhead.
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Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.