Chest-high water spurs North Elba hiker rescue

NORTH ELBA, N.Y. (NEWS10) - On Saturday, April 1, New York State Forest Rangers responded to a request for aid near the Adirondack Loj campground, near Nye Mountain and Mt. Van Hoevenberg. The emergency at hand was a demonstrator of the dangers of mud season for unprepared hikers.

Around 7:30 p.m., rangers were brought into contact with a group of four hikers who were stuck at Indian Pass Brook. The hikers were trapped on their way back to the Adirondack Loj by water from a swollen stream, with water running at chest height, and the group had been unable to find an alternate route around the deep and swift water.

The hikers ended up staying in place for some time. Rangers advised the group to make a fire and wait for their assistance, as warm daytime temperatures gave way to evening numbers in the teens. A group of six rangers used an inflatable kayak and ropes to pull the party across the water one at a time. The operation required one ranger to stay upstream to keep watch for large chunks of ice, and another downstream in case any of the hikers were to be swept up by the water. Rangers delivered the hikers to the Adirondack Loj at around 1:10 a.m.

The high water came as a result of snowmelt, to be expected across the Adirondacks as temperatures settle in above freezing by day. Snowmelt should be expected to cause potentially dangerous amounts of running water in areas where streams cross trails.