It'll be interesting to see how many nitwits will need to be rescued from the High Peaks area of the Adirondacks...
People from outside the area heading into the mountains ill prepared - I've been up there working storms the past 3 weekends....it's still winter up there....
Not as bad as I thought it was going to be...Seems like the DEC had nitwit prevention plan in place...
Rangers had to rescue a woman who injured her leg on top of a mountain in the central Adirondacks. DEC attributes the safe eclipse to what it calls “preventative search-and-rescue education,” which amounts to posting rangers at trailheads to scan for the ill-prepared and to inform people about trail conditions up on the mountain.
The sole rescue that day occurred after the eclipse, at 4:32 p.m., when a 29-year-old hiker from Elmira hurt her lower leg near the summit of Mount Saint Regis. Due to the rough terrain and trail conditions, rangers called in a state police helicopter to hoist the woman off the mountain and fly her to a hospital. Rangers on the ground helped the rest of the hiker’s party out of the woods.
A few days before the eclipse, a 22-year-old cyclist from Massachusetts called rangers for a ride because his camping gear got wet while riding the Rooster Comb trail. He also told rangers that he was cold, it was dark, and the trail was really steep.
Since the cyclist wasn’t injured, ranger dispatch suggested the man find the trailhead by himself. Meanwhile, a ranger hiked into the man’s campsite to retrieve the bike and gear, then got him to a local motel. The cyclist was not dressed appropriately for the conditions, wearing only sneakers, jeans, and a light jacket.
Rangers when they got that call...
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