Two separate hiking parties were forced to spend the night on Mount Katahdin when they became stranded after dark.
According to officials at Baxter State Park, park rangers were alerted to two groups that had become stranded on an exposed ridgeline on the Maine mountain on Thursday, July 24.
One hiker, who WGME 13 News has identified as 47-year-old Beata Kosc, had suffered an "unstable knee injury." She was hiking with another female, 32-year-old Courtney Doyon. The other stranded party consisted of a man and a juvenile, and none of the other hikers were injured. It's not known how close the groups were to one another.
Rangers were able to maintain communication with the hikers throughout the night and reached them on foot on Friday morning, despite rain, clouds, and high winds in the area. Rescuers provided them with food, hot liquids, and dry clothes and staged a tent to shelter the injured hiker while they treated her.
The uninjured hikers were escorted down on foot, and at 5:45pm on Friday, conditions were sufficient to rescue the final hiker by helicopter.
At 5,269ft (1,606m), Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine, and the summit serves as the northern terminus for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. The Knife Edge Ridge is notoriously exposed, with steep drops on either side, and rangers frequently close it to hikers during severe weather.
How to survive the night on a mountain
If you're not planning on camping, you're not likely to take a tent and a sleeping bag on a day hike, but a night on a mountain is often only one sprained ankle away. That's why it's vital to carry the 10 essentials for hiking so you always have weather-protective gear as well as extra snacks and water.
For safety, it's helpful to ensure you have a means of communication in remote areas, such as a Personal Locator Beacon or Satellite Communicator, and you may choose to carry an emergency shelter to protect yourself from the elements. Learn more about keeping yourself safe when things don't go to plan in our article on how to survive a night on a mountain.
