Rescues in White Mountains highlight rapidly changing conditions

Two hikers were rescued from different trails in the White Mountains with upper and lower body injuries several hours apart on Thursday.

Around 2:45 p.m. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department was notified of an injured hiker on the Valley Way Trail in Randolph.

The hiker, identified as 49-year-old James Bell of Weston, Mass. had been hiking with his children when he slipped and fell, sustaining a serious lower leg injury on the way down the trail.

Conservation Officers and volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue responded to the call and placed a splint on his leg. They started carrying him down at 5:48 p.m. and arrived at the Appalachia parking lot around, which was about a mile-and-a-half away, by 7 p.m. Bell was taken by ambulance and transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin.

Before that rescue operation had concluded, another call was received around 4:20 p.m. about a hiker who suffered injuries in the area of Cloudland Falls on the Falling Waters Trail in Franconia. Jeffery McCabe, 42, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania, sustained upper body injuries after falling on slippery rocks and into the water near the falls. He was aided by a fellow hiker who was able to help get him onto dry land.

A rescue team of Conservation Officers and volunteers from the Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team responded and started up the trail at 5:05 p.m.

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By 5:38 p.m., they reached McCabe to assess his injuries and were able to carry him one mile down the trail, reaching the parking lot at 6:54 p.m.

McCabe, who had hiked Franconia Ridge via the Old Bridle Path and was descending the Falling Waters Trail when he was injured, was taken by ambulance to Littleton Regional Healthcare for further treatment.

“Mountain weather is subject to rapid changes and extreme conditions,” Fish and Game said in a statement.

Hikers were urged to check the weather before setting out and packing essential equipment, like a map, headlamp, first aid kit and extra clothing.

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