Recent actions of NYS DEC Forest Ranger:
Lewis County Wilderness Search, Watson Town: At 10:17 PM on November 24, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Lewis County, requesting forest rangers to assist in finding missing persons from Lowell. The county stated that they found the subject's vehicle in Francis Lake in the Independence River Wild Forest in Watson Township. The Rangers Hanno and McCartney responded and found the missing person at 12:29 AM. The Rangers determined that the subject might have hypothermia, packed her into trash, and took her at around 1 AM Taken from the woods to the Lewis County search and rescue ambulance
Keene Town Essex Wilderness Search: At 3:10 pm on November 25th, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Essex County stating that two hikers were lost on the Soda Mountain Trail. No headlights or cold weather equipment. Hikers are using a trail app that is draining their phone battery. At 4:27 pm, Rangers Black and Evans found the hikers and helped them reach the starting point of the trail. 4:45 p.m. Resources cleared
Essex County Wilderness Search in Keene Town: At 4:50 pm on November 25th, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Essex County about three hikers who had climbed to the top of Mount Marcy and requested to descend. Hikers wore ordinary sneakers and complained that there was at least 8 inches of snow near the top of the mountain and their feet were frozen. Rangers Black and Evans responded. Hikers cannot read the map correctly, making it more difficult for the rangers to determine their location. At 9:52 in the evening, the rangers reached the hikers and helped them to reach the Masai Dam and then to their vehicles. 10:36 p.m. Resources cleared
Warren County Wilderness Search in Bolton Town: At 4:33 pm on November 27th, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Warren County stating that there were two hikers from the Syracuse area between Cat Mountain and Thomas Mountain get lost. Ranger Donnigan responded to the location shared by hikers and found the two women on the top of Mount Thomas. At 6:51 pm, Ranger Donegan escorted hikers back to the starting point of the trail
DEC encourages people to go outdoors at this time of the year to stay safe and be prepared. Dress appropriately: moisture-wicking thermal underwear; wool or wool insulation layer; waterproof or waterproof outer layer; thick socks, winter hats, gloves or mittens; and waterproof insulated boots. Also bring more food and water to eat and drink, and rest more. Tiredness, hunger or dehydration can make people more prone to hypothermia. For more information on hiking safety, please visit DEC's website.
Before entering remote areas, be sure to make proper preparations and plans. Visit DEC's Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Remote Area Information and Catskill Remote Area Information pages for more information.
If someone needs a ranger, whether for search and rescue, wildfire reporting, or illegal activity on state land and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If someone needs urgent help, they can call 911. To contact forest rangers for information about specific locations, the DEC website has a telephone number for each ranger listed by region.
The information attributable to NYSDEC is taken from press releases and press announcements from the New York State Department of Environmental Protection.
"Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Essex, saying that three hikers on the top of Mount Marcy asked to ride down the mountain."
We can only hope that this wording is not what they really asked for.
Please note that DEC Forest Rangers Black and Evans spent Thanksgiving in back-to-back rescues from 3:00 PM to 10:30 PM.
Agree-these things would be very serious or fatal without the help of the Rangers. Amazing work.
Sports shoes, snowshoes are probably not needed. Bill them or leave them there... these things need to be stopped.
Why are so many hikers underprepared. ? Sneakers on the top of Mount Marcy? Such people should be charged for the assistance of the ranger.
Why are unprepared hikers so attracted to Marcy? ? ? There are enough signs at the entrance to stop delusions-but only if they can read it.
Stupid is stupid.
Besides, they don't know how to read the map correctly! It is such a person who will eventually ruin everything.
I don’t wear sneakers to the grocery store after Halloween... Come to think of it, I don’t even have sneakers!
Some people think that at least one of them has suitable shoes. "So that's it..." KV
Rangers rescuing unprepared people in the Adirondack Mountains are nothing new, but perhaps New York State has become a victim of its success. Over the years, the unremitting promotion of outdoor leisure has been very successful. Now, with a never-ending pandemic, more and more inexperienced people come to the Adirondack region every season.
Perhaps, before issuing rescue bills that would harm the tourism industry, we should consider realigning our priorities to strike more balance between our successful outdoor recreation promotion and the needs of a respected ranger army. Its request. In short, what I want to say is that we need to hire more rangers!
In addition, let us not forget that as the traditional education content of forest rangers' work decreases, more attention is paid to forest rangers' law enforcement. We are paying a high price for this loss because tourists in the Adirondack Mountains today are becoming less familiar with the skills they need to be safe in the woods. This must change.
I agree. Back when I used to climb regularly a few decades ago, I wondered if I would cross the Masai Dam without encountering a ranger. Rangers can attract the attention of novices more than signs. But for the same reason, do you need a well-trained ranger to appear at the main starting point of the shoulder season? Can't volunteers like Summit Stewards be stationed in a warm makeshift shed and inspect people before they fall into danger? If regulations are ignored or disputes arise, these stewards will communicate with the Rangers by radio. If DEC cannot find volunteers, please create some job opportunities! The cost of educating and reversing someone is cheaper than bringing in resources for search and rescue or worse, extracting resources. After all, the shoulder season is generally considered the most dangerous season in the HPW.
Boreas: We are falling behind in meeting the key educational needs of an increasingly diverse user base that no longer has our (your and mine) rural and open space experience and skills. To be in the forefront in this regard, a multifaceted approach is needed.
It is also important that without causing serious harm to this precious human resource, one cannot continue to place excessive demands on forest rangers indefinitely.
There may be a lot of questions, but I hope that Josh Clague will make education a top priority in his new role as the coordinator of the park, and then reach out to find someone who can lead us into a new vision and era. People change to solve these deteriorating problems.
Every time I hike or ski in the Marcy Dam area, I see C. Peter Fish.
I think he lives there and occasionally visits his home and family in Keene. Of course a person who loves work.
At the cash register leaving the Xinhu Trail, Pete is always welcome to use the perfectly printed black pen to sign in. When you pass by, he will scan you like an MRI.
I remember meeting it once near Marcy Dam. During the MRI examination, I was "talking" to Pete, and a small hard candy wrapper floated by—probably from a thin one to one. I instinctively rushed to the wrapping paper as if it was blown out of my own pocket. Pete just smiled and walked away...
Someone should have assembled a book about "Fish Encounters" in HPW!
Obviously a land navigation course needs to be offered in the Phys Ed course of grades 7-8. Appropriate education about hypothermia should also be taught in all health courses. Education seems to be the key.
As far as I know, these people wearing sneakers were told on the road by an experienced and well-prepared hiker who tried to warn them about the situation in high altitude areas. Regarding the role of the Ranger as a taxi service, the mentality needs to be changed. With all the resources available now, there is no reason not to prepare to hike in the wilderness. In this case, the relevant personnel should be charged. Rangers Evans and Black were pulled away from their families and homes on vacation to assist unprepared hikers in back-to-back rescues.
Another important consideration-when did the party realize that they are beyond their heads? Sneakers and feet will not just freeze on the top of the mountain. I suspect they knew they were at a loss before reaching the top. However, they pushed higher. Why? Get cell signals? Allow the helicopter to recover? They either have a serious lack of safety knowledge in remote areas, or they see the "rescue" plan as a viable option before reaching the top of the mountain. The question is, how does DEC solve this behavior?
Maybe they think of themselves as experienced and well-prepared hikers. What qualifications do we have to question them?
Pay taxes and start your own business.
Education does nothing to stop stupidity. Dressing as a condition is just common sense. These are the same people I see after every snowstorm, wearing T-shirts, shorts, and possibly flip-flops, scratching the windshield of a car with a credit card. As pointed out many times, the problem with fines is that they will prompt some people to delay seeking help until it is too late. This is likely to include those who are well prepared but will run into trouble anyway. things happen. All it takes is to get wet, lose track on the white road, break an arm or leg, or throw away the glasses.
Should we give up our hands, continue to risk the lives of Ranger/volunteers, and spend taxpayer money for "stupidity"?
No, obviously education and law enforcement help those who realize they need to understand what they are doing. My point is that stupid things have always existed and will happen in the future. No amount of education or law enforcement can stop people from doing stupid things. A certain percentage of humans participated in the Darwin Prize, and nothing can stop them! Witness the current anti-vax nonsense.
Inevitably, some very famous but equally unprepared people will die. Then Melissa Hart, who will then become the editor of the New York Times, will educate the world. Here, we are just preaching to ourselves.
"After every snowstorm, all I see are these people, wearing T-shirts and shorts, and scratching the windshield of the car with a credit card."
Around this time of the year, until winter, I will see some people walking out of their cars in shorts and sneakers at temperatures far below zero or even single digits, usually wearing only a T-shirt. I saw them driving by in cars dressed like spring. A good car accident, or their car drives off the road into a ditch and the engine fails, they will learn from them... Maybe. I don't even heat up in the car in winter. Why? Because I dress up like winter, even if I just go a few miles away. This is polyester weather, or wool, or a mixture of both. Many people don't seem to understand! There is no day I don’t think about how unconscious this society is!
At least the person in the shirt and shorts who scrapes the windshield with a credit card will not call AAA to clean the windshield for him-at least not more than once.
"Hikers are using a trail app, which will drain their phone batteries."
Remind us how much we rely on new technology. Maps are always useful, as well as compasses. I like maps, route maps, any maps! I haven't evolved into a battery-powered device to get me out of AZ. For many years, I have been saying "we are getting rid of the old way", and this way will bother us again. The simple me living in a complex society...no one listens!
Back in the good old days, my generation of rangers used to double visit Smokey Bear, from kindergarten to New York State Fair and so on. This is part of our forest fire prevention plan. Maybe we need a strategy built around similar cute mascots to reach out and teach people how to stay safe in our remote areas.
For example; Charlie-I bet you and I can recruit some of our grumpy old friends, dress them as something between David Crockett and Mary Poppins, and send them out to teach these young people Basic knowledge of how people are safe outdoors. Don’t you think it’s definitely better to be a greeter in a hypermarket?
Louis, when they are doing it, David and Mary can also teach adults...
I think if Mary Poppins told me that it would be nice for people to pick up a little trash occasionally, I would come back with three bags.
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