Two people did get lost, on Dec 1st at Hammond Hill. They were rescued around midnight and were in
good shape, but I’ll bet they were scared.
It is actually quite easy to get lost in the woods, especially on a
cloudy day. A sunset is very helpful at dusk, but you can’t count on one around
here. All trees look alike, trails and ski
tracks can be everywhere and go nowhere.
Here is a synopsis of what happened, pieced together from various sources,
especially Wylie Schwartz, who lost her friends that day.
The three started out around noon and were heading back to the
parking lot on Y5 from Canaan Rd around 3:30.
They spread out a bit on the trail and seem to have turned onto B1
instead of Y1 that goes down to the parking lot. The blue trail (B1) is one of the most
confusing trails at HH. It is not that
well used, so is narrow and sometime brushy, and there are numerous
intersections. For instance, it crosses
Hammond Hill Rd (not much of a road at that point) and also follows a snowmobile
trail for a while. In this section, the
blazes for the 2 trails are on separate trees far apart from each other, so it
can appear that you are no longer on B1, though you are, unless you missed the spot
where B1 separates, which is easy to do.
Then B1 itself splits, as it is a lollipop-shaped trail. There are no blazes at any intersections to
make any of this clear. (In fact, none
of the DEC trail intersections on HH are marked, you have to travel 100 yards
down a trail to find out what it is, but I digress.) On top of all that, there are several small,
unmarked, ski/mt bike trails that come off B1 that are occasionally skied by a
small number people. So it is not
surprising that Wylie went one way and her friends went another.
After waiting and frantically trying other trails, Wylie went down
to the parking lot. No one there. She knew her friends did not have a map or
lights or a phone or extra clothes or food or any of those things you wish you
had when you are lost on a cold night, so she called 911, as she did bring a
phone.
In the meantime, the 2 skiers must have lost the trail they were
following when it got dark, but they continued on hoping to find a road, which
is not an unreasonable strategy.
Unfortunately, they traveled to a remote corner of the forest. One of them
broke a binding and was skiing on one ski and carrying the other. It was
very dark and around 7pm it started raining so they sheltered under a pine
tree, huddled together to keep warm, and tried to play word games to stay
alert.
The rescue was epic, personnel from the Sheriff Depts. of 4
counties, various DEC and NYS agencies, 7 local Fire Depts. and others came
with a UTV, ATV and 2 snowmobiles. At 6:42
the search was on.
 | |
Many agencies and countless volunteers were involved
in Saturday night’s rescue operation. Photo courtesy Wylie Schwartz. www.14850.com/12029056-dryden-missing-1812/
|
 |
| Rescuers at the command post. Photo courtesy of Wylie Schwartz. www.14850.com/12029056-dryden-missing-1812/ |
The search team started
looking where the skiers were last seen (near trail 5 and 1) and branched out
from there, systematically going
trail by trail which took time. Around 12:15am
the skiers were discovered many miles away, down in the vicinity of Harford
Road, trying to keep each other warm under a tree along an unmarked trail. The
women were mildly hypothermic but refused further medical treatment. In a way they were lucky; it could have been much worse.
The rescue team said they can find someone in less than an hour
using a temporary cell tower. This is a good reason to always carry a phone, even
if you think the service will be poor to nonexistent. According to the rescue team there are usually
several lost people at HH each year, most of them hunters.
When the
first reports came out on our CNSC elist, members were quick to provide a lot
of (in hindsight) advice on what the skiers should have brought, should have done,
etc, as well as make a lot of jokes, which lightened up the situation. But it was serious, and this should make us
all sit down and think.
As a club,
we should do more to promote safe practices.
To start, here are some safety suggestions
It is easiest
is to avoid getting lost in the first place, so
Don’t ski alone
Stay on marked trails unless you know exactly where you are
Bring a map (study it first) and
compass or GPS
Pay attention to where you are going when skiing with others
Also
Keep other skiers in sight
Regroup at trail intersections
If separated, stay close to where you
are, maybe backtrack a bit, rather than trying other trails
Carry a whistle (ever notice that many
backpacks come with whistles?)
Bring a cell phone, batteries charged,
and keep it warm near your body
Other things
that you might be thankful to have
Headlamp (fresh batteries) esp if after
noon
Energy bars
Extra clothes
Hand/toe warmers
Visit
DEC's Hiking Safety and Adirondack Backcountry
Information webpage for more information
A last note, the DEC is in the process of updating the Hammond Hill map on their website and possibly improving the trail blazing.
