Hurt 61-year-old hiker had ‘no memory’ of 30-foot fall when NY rangers came to rescue
A hurt 61-year-old hiker found themself at the bottom of an embankment after having “no memory” of falling 30 feet in downstate New York, according to rescuers.
Forest rangers arrived to rescue the hiker who was hoisted back up to the Kaaterskill Rail Trail in the Catskill Mountains on July 3, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release.
The Long Island resident broke their wrist and experienced “severe rib pain” as a result of the fall, the release said.
Rangers used a steep-angle raise and a vacuum mattress — a device that transports an injured individual by keeping them stable and immobile — to raise them up to the trail, according to the DEC.
Then, the hiker was driven to a nearby ambulance, the release said.
The incident was one of five ranger rescues that took place in the state from June 30 through July 4, the DEC said.
In 2021, New York forest rangers went on 426 search and rescue missions throughout the state, according to the agency.
The Kaaterskill Rail Trail is open to the public and leads to the 231-foot Kaaterskill Falls.
It is roughly 50 miles southwest of Albany.
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Hurt 61-year-old hiker had ‘no memory’ of 30-foot fall when NY rangers came to rescue."
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