Mountain rescue prompts warning about hiking preparedness

SALISBURY, Conn. — A nighttime rescue last week involving approximately 20 emergency responders has prompted local officials to warn hikers against summiting Bear Mountain without adequate supplies or enough time to return before dark.

Crews were dispatched to the Undermountain Trail trailhead shortly before 9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, after two hikers called 911 to report that one of them, a 62-year-old woman, was experiencing numbness on one side of her body.

Location data from the call placed the hikers approximately two miles up the trail, which connects with the Appalachian Trail near Bear Mountain.

According to Litchfield County Dispatch, responders reached the woman shortly after 10 p.m. She was brought to the trailhead and placed under the care of emergency medical personnel by 10:45 p.m. She declined medical treatment.

Lakeville Hose Company No. 1, Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service and North Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to the call.

Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service Chief Jacquie Rice said the woman’s location below the trail’s steepest sections made the rescue relatively straightforward. Rice and a Lakeville firefighter were able to reach her with an all-terrain vehicle, although she was near the limit of where the vehicle could travel safely.

About eight responders had started up the trail carrying a Stokes litter, a type of wilderness stretcher. They were told to turn back after crews determined that the woman could ride down on the ATV.

Rice followed the vehicle on foot during the descent. Rough terrain and debris complicated the trip, and responders used a chainsaw at one point to clear the trail.

Rice said dehydration may have contributed to the woman’s condition. She improved after receiving water and food, Rice said.

“This was a person who was just visiting—had never hiked the trail, and really didn’t bring adequate supplies,” Rice said.

Rice said the pair had likely climbed the mountain to watch the sunset and were caught unprepared for the descent in darkness. Rice noted that hikers caught on Bear Mountain after dark are a frequent source of emergency calls.

Nevertheless, Rice commended the hikers for possessing headlamps, noting that many people rescued from the mountain do not have them. But safe preparation also means carrying adequate water and food, knowing the trail’s difficulty and allowing enough daylight to complete the hike, she said.

She urged inexperienced hikers to avoid the popular but strenuous route, particularly late in the day. Bear Mountain is difficult in sections, and conditions are hazardous after dark.

Rice also noted that wilderness rescues require significant personnel and can take hours, even when the extraction is relatively straightforward.

“It’s beautiful up there,” she said, “but you have to be well prepared.”