Game wardens and local paramedics rescued two heat-exhausted hikers this week as they traversed portions of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, authorities said.
On Tuesday, rescuers responded to an overheated 67-year-old male hiker who used his GPS locator to call for help, according to Cpl. John MacDonald, a spokesman for the Maine Warden Service. Wardens transported him off the AT to a nearby trail where he was boarded on an ATV and taken to a nearby hospital, MacDonald said.
On Thursday, a 21-year-old female hiker trekking southbound on the AT near the Wilson Valley Lean-to called the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s office to report the she was nauseated, MacDonald said. Four wardens and local paramedics treated her at the scene, then carried her out on a litter to an ATV, he said. She was checked into a local hospital.
In addition to the two rescues, several worried family members have called to report concern about loved ones traversing the Maine portion of the rigorous trail leading up to Baxter State Park, called the 100-mile Wilderness, amid a weeklong heat wave that has pushed temperatures close to 100 degrees.
The Warden Service encouraged all hikers to hydrate, stay on marked trails, watch the weather and plan their trips to have adequate food, water and survival equipment.
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