Hikers wearing sneakers rescued with ‘frozen feet’ from snowy NY mountain, rangers say
Three hikers went up a snowy mountain in sneakers and were rescued after complaining of “frozen feet” in New York.
What’s more is that they were stranded on the summit of Mount Marcy, the highest point in the state.
On Thanksgiving, the trio spent more than five hours on the mountain before being rescued by forest rangers and driven down to Marcy Dam, according to a news release on recent ranger actions posted Nov. 30 by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
“The hikers could not read a map properly, making it more difficult for Rangers to pinpoint their location,” the wilderness search crew said in a statement.
The mountain is located upstate in the Adirondacks, within the town of Keene, about 100 miles south of Montreal, Canada.
At its highest, it stands at 5,344 feet.
Initially, the hikers called the Ray Brook Dispatch requesting a ride down from the mountain at 4:50 p.m.
They said their feet, protected only by sneakers, were standing on at least eight inches of snow.
Two rangers reached the three at 9:52 p.m. and they were finally rescued.
The DEC said hikers should “be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry,” in an emailed statement to McClatchy News.
It added that when a search and rescue is needed or to report a wildfire or illegal activity, call 833-NYS-RANGERS.
For more urgent matters, 911 should be called.
Slightly earlier in the day, Nov. 25, the Ray Brook Dispatch received a call at 3:10 p.m. from two hikers lost on the nearby Soda Range Trail, 15 miles away, the release said about the separate incident.
They were without cold weather gear or headlamps while using a trail app that was draining their cell phone battery.
A little over an hour later, the same rangers who responded to the trio of hikers found the two hikers and helped them find their way to the trailhead.
In 2020, 492 search and rescue missions were conducted by DEC forest rangers in the state.
This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Hikers wearing sneakers rescued with ‘frozen feet’ from snowy NY mountain, rangers say."
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