Originally viewed as an uninhabitable area to settle, the Adirondacks today have quite a few towns. There are over 100 villages and towns that total up to a population of over a 100,000. This isn't too shabby considering the Adirondacks were first seen as desolate and unforgiving. As a matter a fact, the six million acre land attracts millions of visitors each year and brings in a nice chunk of money for the New York state. What is commonly less known, is the disappearances or deaths of experienced hikers and hunters.
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| Hua Davis (Syracuse.com) |
Last Saturday, an avid 61-year-old hiker from Wilmington, Delaware passed away on the western slopes of MacNaughton Mountain due to hypothermia. MacNaughton Mountain has a summit of 3,983 feet and the temperatures that night reached below zero. Davis left her party and set out to hike on her own but did not return the next day which prompted a search-and-rescue mission by state rangers and police. After finding her body, a forest ranger fell through the ice of a brook or creek and was submerged chest deep in water. As a result, the rangers who were conducting the rescue mission requested an emergency extraction and had to be rescued themselves.
Hua Davis was a Saranac Lake Ultra 6er which meant she was able to climb all six Saranac Lake peaks in one day.
How is it that so many hikers and hunters fall victim to the Adirondacks despite being so experienced? Are these accidents common occurrences not unique to the Adirondacks or is the park really as desolate and unforgiving as originally thought?
When it comes to climbing any mountain there is always a lot of danger to it. A person can get lost, run out of food, not prepare for the weather, or simply just make a mistake that results in death. I think these incidents are not unique to the Adirondacks since death of hikers happen more often than we think we just don't simply hear about it. This story just shows how dangerous climbing mountains can be.
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