For the second time in three days, rangers had to come to the aid of hikers in peril on Mount Katahdin.
A 61-year-old Utah man was airlifted off the Hamlin Ridge Trail on Monday morning after sustaining injuries during a 10- to 15-foot fall on the mountain Saturday, according to a news release from Baxter State Park.
That afternoon, the man, whom the park did not name, fell off the Cathedral Trail, one of the more technical trails up the mountain. The man and his hiking companion spent Saturday night on the mountain, the park said. They were met on Sunday afternoon by a Baxter State Park ranger and volunteers with Mahoosuc Search and Rescue, after the two hikers sent word of the injury down with another hiker that morning.
The rescue crew hiked them down a portion of the Hamlin Ridge Trail, but the party was forced to spend Sunday night there due to slow progress, park officials said.
The Maine Forest Service sent a helicopter to the scene Monday and carried the patient to Caribou Pit, at the southern end of the park, where a medic from the Old Town Fire Department treated him for dehydration. The forest service helicopter crew then flew the patient to Millinocket Regional Hospital.
The Maine Forest Service also aided hikers on Saturday, when two hikers were caught in gusty, erratic winds on Mount Katahdin’s Knife Edge Trail. The Maine Forest Rangers lowered a tent, food, water and a medical kit to the hikers for an overnight stay when a flight crew was unable to get them off the mountain, according to the Maine Forest Rangers Facebook page. The forest rangers confirmed the hikers were not injured and made it out of the park safely.
While two ranger-assisted rescues on Mount Katahdin is not unusual for a weekend in late June, having two rescues that involved helicopters is, Baxter State Park Director Eben Sypitkowski said.
“This mountain is as rugged as any,” he said of 5,267-foot Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak. “Do not underestimate the mountain, and do not overestimate your own skill and preparedness.”
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