Heroes of the Week: NH Fish and Game Rescues Several Foliage Hikers

Last weekend was busy here in Northern New England with leaf peepers crowding the highways and hiking in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Several had to be rescued by the heroes of the NH Fish and Game Dept. Some were also foolish enough to wear shorts and sandals when temperatures were in the low 50s at the base of mountains and in wind chills were in Single Numbers further up!! Here's the story.

Multiple rescues made in New Hampshire as peak foliage draws large crowds 

WMTW-TV, Oct 14, 2024 Monica Hernandez

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department made multiple rescues in the state over the holiday weekend, as peak foliage drew large crowds of tourists.

Fish and Game officials told WMTW's sister station, WMUR, that seven rescues were made Saturday night alone. Hikers got caught in a drainage area near a brook without lights while coming down from Cannon Mountain's Basin Cascade Trail.

“What people aren’t realizing right now is it may be fall everywhere else, but up here in the mountains, it’s already winter," said Chris McKee, a conservation officer with New Hampshire Fish and Games. "Mount Washington has already seen over five inches of snow this week. All the snow or elevation we’re having is snow-covered, ice-covered, and people just aren’t prepared."

Wind chills in the mountains of New Hampshire have been in the single digits.

“We saw people wearing slippers (and) sandals, people wearing short shorts,” said Milford resident Tamara Breau, a seasoned hiker.

Breau said one of the top destinations, the Artists Bluff Trail, was crowded and chaotic.

“Once we got to the top, where it was like kind of bottlenecking, people were just shoving their way through. It was completely unsafe,” she said.

Breau also said the Artists Bluff Trail is typically an easy hike, but the crowds made it dangerous and unlike anything she had experienced before.

"I couldn’t help but think: 'Somebody’s going to have to get rescued,'" Breau said.

Fish and Game officials said traffic congestion on Interstate 93 during the peak fall foliage has also been a challenge. Traffic is so severe that it took crews more than an hour to reach the trail for a rescue on Franconia Ridge.

McKee reminded hikers to come prepared by bringing food, water, headlamps, proper gear and a map in case of no cellphone service.