Nine Rescues in the Adirondack Wilderness in 6 days

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers responded to 9 search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks in the past few days.

Read the Full ARTICLE HERE:  https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2019/05/9-adirondack-hiker-rescues-last-weekend.html

Many of the rescues were the result of ankle injuries, minor injuries or equipment failure.

What's alarming is the increase in rescues, accidents, disappearances and deaths in the past 3 weeks throughout the hiking and travel communities.

 I have a good amount of faith in the hiking community, but one can only surmise that the increase in Social Media and photo density of far-off, picturesque and alluring natural destinations has triggered more and more unprepared folks to enter TRUE wilderness areas. Failure to have proper footwear, a first aid kit, or a method to reach out in case an emergency happens has become more prevalent than ever. Luckily, these are rescue reports, which is the BEST CASE SCENARIO for a bad situation.

While the "need" to bring more people into nature and appreciating our wilderness areas remains the same, the balance of cost and detriment to the small tourism-based economies for nearby towns is hard to calculate. Rescue's aren't free, and even if individuals are fined for their lapse in judgement or poor decisions, there's no accounting for whether the costs of the rescue will truly be re-cooped.

College-sponsored trip into White Mountains ended with a multi-day rescue effort to locate a missing student.

According to a Dartmouth College Spokeswoman, there were many "troubling factors" that resulted in a multi-day, multi-resource rescue effort to locate a student that went missing in the White Mountains.

The "Whites" as affectionately coined by most hikers, are a magnificent, yet unyielding wilderness, and the last known destination for many missing hikers and missing persons.

The college discovered shortcomings in how the hike to Mount Moosilauke earlier this month was planned and carried out, and those circumstances contributed to a student getting lost, according to the statement.

Dartmouth said it would pay for the entire search and rescue operation, which involved two helicopters.

The total cost for the rescue efforts are estimated up to $60,000.

My question is this: If this were a college-sponsored trip with a large, semi-organized group of students and faculty members, and it still resulted in one missing hiker, why aren't we hearing about more disappearances in this remote wilderness?

Read the FULL article HERE:  https://www.concordmonitor.com/Update-on-missing-Dartmough-hiker-story-25788532

And don't forget, when planning a trip to such an incredible area, do your research.