On Saturday, March 8th at about 4 am, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from the family members of two overdue hikers. The last known location for the 25- and 30-year-olds was the summit of Upper Wolfjaw Mountain in the Adirondack High Peaks‘ town of Keene, Essex County.
The pair from Queensbury in nearby Warren County, NY, had left an itinerary with their family members with instructions not to worry until 3 am.
The pair were planning to complete five peaks of the Lower Great Range. Wolfjaw was their fourth peak undertaken with strong winds, whiteout conditions, and temperatures as low as –40 degrees with the windchill in higher elevations.
At about 6:30 am, Forest Ranger Lewis located the hikers’ vehicle at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve parking lot. Rangers hiked the Wedgebrook Trail and A.W. Trail, a very steep trail that leads to a junction near Pyramid Mountain and Sawteeth.
As they were about to hike the south side trail of Johns Brook Valley at 10 am, Johns Brook Lodge called to report the two hikers were at the lodge and in good condition.
The hikers had lost the trail and could only find the trail to Johns Brook Valley. They encountered other hikers in the morning who told them about the lodge.
Rangers explained how the hikers could get to the Garden Parking Lot and at about 12:30 pm the pair met up with Rangers and family.
The pair had multiple electronic devices for navigation, but the batteries all died. Rangers encourage hikers to always travel with a map and a compass.
Read about past Forest Ranger missions here.
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