Missing Hiker in New York Serves as Warning to All Winter Hikers

New York has already seen significant snowfall and cold temperatures this season across the state. While winter has yet to even officially begin, the wintery weather has already caused frightening situations for a number of hikers across the state.

This week, this DEC released their week in review which included information about a stressful search effort for a 29-year-old hiker. The incident serves as a timely reminder of the precautions hikers need to take should they decide to set out for the mountains this winter.

Lost Hikers in New York Mountains

Earlier this month, news was shared about a missing 22-year-old hiker from Quebec who was last known to be hiking the Allen Mountain Peak of the Adirondacks. Agencies ranging from the New York DEC to the FBI joined forces for an active search effort to find the missing young man, Leo DuFour.

As of December 10th, search efforts shifted from an active search to a recovery mission after days of ground searching.

Allen Mountain is known to be a challenging hike in good conditions. Snow can affect the visibility of trailmakers and create disorienting conditions for hikers. As of this writing, we are still awaiting an update on Leo DuFour's recovery efforts.

More Seach Efforts for Missing Hikers

This week, the DEC shared that on Sunday, December 15th, Forest Rangers worked with the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office to search for a missing 29-year-old hiker who had been last known to be hiking in the Blenheim State Forest.

Forest Rangers were called to join the search a little after 1 AM for an overnight search mission.

The search became stressful when a set of tracks was discovered and then lost due to snow. After 7 hours of searching, Rangers found another set of tracks which led teams to find the missing 29-year-old hiker "near an old logging road" according to the DEC's weekly review.

A Warning to Hikers in New York

These latest two searches required Rangers and search teams to brave harsh and dangerous conditions. In the case of Leo DuFour, a number of local hikers were hoping to volunteer in the search efforts but were told to stand down as the risk of losing more hikers was too great given snowy and disorienting conditions.

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If you choose to hike during the sometimes unpredictable winter months, here are a few items and preparations you should take to stay safe.

Do Your Research: Make sure you look at maps and get to know the area you plan to hike. Look into how long or strenuous the trails are and make sure the difficulty level of the trail matches your ability level. It's also important to know how much daylight you have and make sure you allot enough time to get out and back before it gets too dark to see.
Dress Accordingly: Of course, you want to make sure you dress warm enough with staples like wool socks, waterproof boots, and gloves, but you also should be hiking in bright, visible colors in case you end up in a situation where you need to be seen from afar. If there's a possibility of ice, micro-spikes or crampons should be brought along.
Pack and Prepare: Bringing enough water is essential on any hike as well as energy snacks. During winter months, it's a good idea to bring extra clothes to change into like extra hats or socks that may get wet. The DEC recommends bringing backups and worst-case-scenario items like a fire starter kit, flashlights, extra batteries, and a pocket knife.

These packing preparations can make a huge difference when you're out on the trails in the winter. It's also important to always let someone know where you will be hiking and ideally bring a buddy so as to not hike alone in case of injury.