Photo: MA State Police
MOUNT WASHINGTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two hikers were rescued from Mount Washington State Forest early Wednesday morning after heavy snow left them stranded.
Just before 8 p.m., Berkshire County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center received a 911 call from a hiker that couldn't find their way due to the weather conditions. State Police said the hiker was on the Alander Trail with another hiker when heavy snow and darkness caused them to lose their way. They could no longer see trail markings and were unable to retrace their steps since heavy snow covered their tracks. They told police they were approximately two miles into the forest and were on their way to a cabin at the mountain peak.
In order to get to the hikers, first responders had to clear the roads blocked by trees and power lines that had fallen from the storm. While they worked to get a clear path, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation worked to find the hikers' coordinates.
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At around 11:15 p.m., National Grid employees were able to shut down the downed power lines so emergency dispatchers could set out to find the hikers.
A six-person search and rescue team began their search into the forest on snowmobiles but had to abandon them as they couldn't drive onto the trail covered in two feet of snow. The team continued to search on foot, hiking for more than two and a half hours before finding the hikers at around 2:30 a.m., officials said.
The search team hiked back out of the forest with the two rescued men, making it back to DCR headquarters around 4:48 a.m. The men were not injured, but did suffer from fatigue and cold weather exposure.
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