New Hampshire officials cautioned hikers yesterday against going it alone, a day after they rescued a Boston man who became lost on a trail where a New Hampshire man died last week.
"Hiking alone is a dangerous thing any time of the year, but during the winter it's especially dangerous," said Lieutenant Kevin Jordan of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, who helped coordinate Saturday's rescue of 28-year-old Benjamin R. Davis from Franconia Notch State Park.
Davis could not be reached yesterday for comment. Jordan blamed his misadventure on severe weather and a lack of preparedness.
Davis was rescued by helicopter about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, more than 30 hours after he set out on an overnight hike to the summit of Mount Lafayette. He had made the trip eight or nine times before, officials said.
Sixty to 90 mile-per-hour winds Friday night pushed him off the trail, which is 2 1/2 hours north of Boston, Jordan said.
Davis spent Friday night in his tent, but realized he was lost Saturday morning and used his cellphone to contact his girlfriend at 11 a.m. She contacted authorities, who began searching, Jordan said.
A New Hampshire Army National Guard search-and-rescue team in a Black Hawk helicopter found Davis and airlifted him to Littleton Regional Hospital. Officials there did not list him among patients last night.
"He was doing well [Saturday] night, but he did have some injuries to his feet, especially," Jordan said.
About 30 members of the Army National Guard and Fish and Game Department were involved in the rescue. The National Guard helicopter dropped search-and-rescue personnel on a ridge above the Franconia Ridge Trail, then began a grid search pattern.
At 4:15 p.m., Davis dialed 911, helping emergency services triangulate his position using cellphone towers in the area and giving rescuers coordinates that were an eighth of a mile away. He was rescued shortly thereafter.
The 911 system "certainly saves time, and in this case, it saved his life," Jordan said.
Jordan said Fish and Game authorities handle such rescues "pretty routinely." He said that last week, one New Hampshire man died and another was severely injured after getting lost on the trail.
The state developed a program about four years ago called hikeSafe to improve hiker awareness and reduce the frequency of rescues. A rescue operation costs about $3,000, officials said.
"A lot of people routinely put their lives on the line for long periods of time to go after these folks," Jordan said.
Jordan said Davis lacked snowshoes, waterproof boots, a global positioning system, a map and compass, and made the mistake of hiking alone. He also was unaware of the severe weather conditions above the tree line, Jordan said. But Davis had some equipment and was "more prepared than other people," the officer said.
Hikers may be charged financially if their rescue is triggered by irresponsibility on their part. The decision on whether to charge Davis will come from the attorney general.
