Two Upstate teens triggered a large emergency response last week after doing the unthinkable—they went camping without their cell phones.
The pair left a residence in Cassadaga, Chautauqua County, at 10 p.m. on June 18, taking with them everything they needed for some overnight fun, including tents and backpacks filled with gear and other necessities.
Except their phones.
The teens’ conspicuous decision to explore nature’s beauty without devices that, in many ways, represent the pinnacle of modern civilization, baffled authorities.
The teens were reported missing the following day. At 1:20 p.m., New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers jumped into action.
Rangers quickly set up an Incident Command and divided 25 searchers into three teams. The teams included NY State Police, Chautauqua County Volunteer Search Team, and the Cassadaga Fire Department.
At 7 p.m. on June 19, one of the search teams found the missing youth in good health, camped out on Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy property.
The following reports are excerpted from DEC:
A hiker with a knee injury had to be airlifted off Hurricane Mountain last week.NYS DEC
On the afternoon of June 22, a hiker suffered a knee injury on Hurricane Mountain. Due to the severity of the injury and their precarious location, rangers called in a state police helicopter. A ranger was lowered from the chopper to tend to the hiker’s injuries and secure them for a hoist. The patient was transported to Adirondack Medical Center.
A 70-year-old hiker from Illinois died on June 20 after a serious fall on the Kaaterskill Falls Access trail in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest. Rangers and other responders provided medical care at the scene, extricated the hiker to the trailhead, and attempted to stabilize them for transport to a hospital via helicopter. But the hiker succumbed to their injuries and was declared deceased at the trailhead.
Rangers traversed a steep trail on Whiteface Mountain last week as they went to rescue a hiker with an injured ankle.NYS DEC
A 45-year-old from Schenectady broke an ankle near the summit of Whiteface Mountain on June 16. Rangers splinted the hiker’s ankle and assisted the entire hiking party to the trailhead where the injured hiker refused further medical attention.
On the morning of June 20, a 36-year-old from West Chazy hurt their ankle while hiking the Cranberry Lake 50. Rangers launched a rescue boat from the Cranberry Lake Field office and met the hiker, who couldn’t continue on with a full pack and an injured knee. Rangers transported the hiker to the field office where a friend picked them up.
Rangers use a wheeled litter to carry out a 68-year-old from Ballston Spa who injured their ankle last week on Owls Head Mountain.NYS DEC
A 68-year-old from Ballston Spa injured their ankle on June 22, one mile from the trailhead on Owls Head Mountain. Several rangers attended to the injury and used a wheeled litter to transport the patient off the mountain.
On the night of June 21, a group of three hikers were reported overdue from a trip up Giant Mountain. Ranger dispatch reached the party by phone and determined their location to be about 2.5 miles from the nearest trailhead. The hikers admitted they underestimated the hike, were too tired to continue, and had only one light among them. Rangers assisted them to the trailhead.
Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com