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Mass. hikers who reportedly ignored advice from authorities rescued from N.H. mountain
"They lost their composure and would not listen to any advice being given to them," Fish and Game officials said.
Two Massachusetts men were rescued from a New Hampshire mountain on Saturday after reportedly ignoring advice from authorities.
Around 9:45 p.m. on Friday, New Hampshire Fish and Game received a report of two hikers who had lost the trail during their descent from Mount Lafayette. The hikers were above the tree line in waist-deep snow and exposed to heavy winds and temperatures around 10 degrees, authorities said.
The hikers, a 35-year-old from New Bedford and a 41-year-old from Haverhill, were neither dressed appropriately nor well-equipped for a 9-mile loop which they began around 1:00 p.m, according to Fish and Game.
One hiker reported he could not continue due to a lower leg injury sustained during a fall, but rescuers later discovered the injury was not as significant as was reported. The other hiker was going in and out of consciousness due to severe hypothermia, the department said.
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“They lost their composure and would not listen to any advice being given to them,” Fish and Game officials wrote in a press release.
Around 11:25 p.m., a rescue team began the 4-mile hike to the men. A second team assembled in Concord and arrived in Franconia Notch around 2:30 a.m., but were unable to reach the hikers due to the cloud cover.
Around 2:45 a.m., the rescue team reached the hikers and were able to help them get warm, the department said. The group began their descent around 3:00 a.m. and reached the trailhead at 5:30 a.m.
The rescue team initially ordered a National Guard helicopter to conduct the rescue, but the helicopter team left once the team reported the men could hike out without assistance, the department said.
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The hikers then drove themselves to a hospital where they were treated for frostbite.
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