Three hikers in distress were rescued from the White Mountains over the weekend, including a 24-year-old Chicago man who was evacuated in a helicopter.
Crawford Path rescues
Two hikers — one on Saturday and one on Sunday — needed assistance at different parts of the popular Crawford Path.
At 3:27 p.m. on Saturday, Meghan Mason, of Braintree, Mass., slipped and fell between 50-100 feet down Mount Pierce near a scenic overlook, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officers.
Mason was about .6 miles from the trailhead on a spur trail when conservation officers reached her. Due to the rugged terrain, rescuers from the Mountain Rescue Service (MRS), Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team and Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue were called to assist, according to Fish and Game officials.
Volunteers carried Mason back down the trail, reaching the parking lot at 7:10 p.m. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Around 2:30 p.m. the next afternoon, Thomas Pratt, 73, of Pembroke, Mass., started suffering from a medical condition about 1.3 miles up Crawford Path, according to Fish and Game.
Pratt was hiking with his two grandsons with plans to stay at the Mizpah Hut that night. Due to the seriousness of his ailment, the group made an emergency call for help. Fellow hikers stayed with Pratt as rescuers from Twin Mountain Fire, including a paramedic and volunteers from Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue, hiked up to reach him. Meanwhile, an Appalachian Mountain Club staff member from the Mizpah Hut hiked down to Pratt carrying a defibrillator.
Around 4 p.m., after rest and rehydration, Pratt started hiking back down to the trailhead with assistance. He made it back to the parking lot at 5:45 p.m., where an ambulance brought him to the hospital.
Helicopter rescue
Earlier Sunday at about 8:30 a.m., conservation officers were called to aid Torulf Hinckley, 24, of Chicago, Illinois, who was experiencing a worsening medical condition.
Hinkley and his family members had hiked 3.6 miles up to the Perch Shelter on Mount Adams on Saturday without incident.
“During the night, he suffered from a medical episode that continued throughout the night, early morning and late morning,” Fish and Game officials said.
Hinckley’s father is a medical doctor and given the concerning nature of the event and the remoteness of the location, a request was made to the New Hampshire National Guard for a helicopter rescue. The chopper arrived around noon.
Hinkley was joined in the helicopter by his father and flown to the hospital for further evaluation.