Always go prepared, no matter how experienced you are.

[MrCoffee 0]

By LORNA COLQUHOUN

The Union Leader

updated 1:17 a.m. ET, Wed., Oct. 8, 2008

LINCOLN - More than two dozen people spent much of the night yesterday carrying an injured hiker off a remote mountain peak in the Pemigewasset Wilderness.

 

Dorothy Blanchard, 69, of Newcastle, Maine, injured her knee late Monday afternoon while bushwhacking her way to the 3,684-foot trail-less summit of Mount Huntington.

 

Blanchard is an accomplished hiker, said Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus. She had made the summit of the 100 highest peaks in New England, he said, and was working on bagging the top 100 peaks in New Hampshire when she began heading down Mount Huntington.

 

"Upon her descent she became injured and her hiking companion hiked over two hours out to the trailhead to get assistance," he said.

 

Members of Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue were called out around 7 p.m. and had the task of first trying to find her, since she had been bushwhacking.

 

"Her exact location was not known, but her companion did have good woods knowledge and utilized map and compass, which put us in the right area," Bogardus said.

 

The first team of rescuers found her off the Hancock Notch trail and were able to carry her out by litter to the Kancamagus Highway, reaching the road about 3 a.m.

 

Blanchard was well prepared for the day hike she had planned, Bogardus said. She was taken for treatment to Speare Hospital in Plymouth.

 

Two hikers who needed help to get back to a trailhead Saturday night were not so prepared, Bogardus said.

 

Searchers were called out Saturday night to look for Nan Yang, 30, of Boxborough, Mass., and Christine Hou, 35, of Arlington, Mass., after they ran out of light while coming down Flume Slide trail in Franconia Notch.

 

They had been hiking with five other companions, but decided to go ahead of the rest of the group to reach the trailhead first, according to Bogardus.

 

When darkness fell, they were without flashlights or other gear and lost the trail. They used a cell phone to call 911 for assistance, he said.

 

Two volunteers from Pemi Valley Search and Rescue hiked up the Liberty Springs trail and found the two women. While other searchers were preparing to look for the pair, their five companions, who were prepared with lights and gear, came out on the trailhead.

 

"These two hikers failed to stay together with their group and also failed to carry appropriate gear, such as a simple flashlight," Bogardus said, warning those heading into the woods or onto the trails this time of year to be aware that the daylight is growing shorter, the trails are littered with leaves to make following the trails a harder and treacherous, as well as winter conditions being experienced at the higher elevations

 

[Holly 0]

I wouldn't want to be stranded anywhere without my candy corn or other necessities. :nono:

 

Great post, MrCoffee! :thumbsup:

[MrCoffee 0]

I wouldn't want to be stranded anywhere without my candy corn or other necessities. :nono:

 

Great post, MrCoffee! :thumbsup:

 

LOL... Mrs Coffee never goes anywhere without a weeks supply of Hersey Kisses...

 

Just thought it was a good reminder to those of us (me) that have been climbing for years and years and tend to take hitting the trail more lightly then we really should.

[Tatonka 0]

Mr Coffee, Great Post. :thumbup:

It amazes me that people still don't even carry the basics with them while in the woods hiking. Guess they were never girl scouts.

[RovingArcher 0]

Great post Mr. Coffee.  It is so easy to have all of the essentials on us and not need anything but our pockets to carry it all.  So there is really no reason not to have it with us.  Even if we don't need to use it for ourselves, I know from personal experience that there will be days when a hiker or hunter needed mending in one form or another and when we can help, it's makes it all worth having it with us.

[survivorgirl 1]

hear hear never leave home without the basics.even it you think you wont need them.