An injured hiker from Utah was airlifted off Katahdin on Monday morning after he spent the weekend stuck on Maine’s tallest mountain.
Eben Sypitkowski, the director of Baxter State Park, said that the 61-year-old was injured after he fell 10 to 15 feet while climbing the Cathedral Trail on Saturday afternoon. The hiker and his companion spent that night on the tableland.
The two sent word with another hiker down to Chimney Pond on Sunday morning, and a park ranger and volunteers with Mahoosuc Search and Rescue climbed the mountain to reach them that afternoon, Sypitkowski said.
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The rescuers attempted to hike them down the Hamlin Ridge Trail, but were forced to shelter on the mountain Sunday night due to their slow progress.
On Monday morning, the Maine Forest Service deployed a helicopter and airlifted the injured hiker to the Caribou Pit, where he was treated for dehydration before being taken to Millinocket Regional Hospital, Sypitkowski said.
That was the second rescue performed on Katahdin over the weekend. The two Pennsylvania hikers, who weren’t injured, became stuck off-trail below the Knife Edge amid gusty and erratic winds on Sunday, and were rescued by a volunteer search and rescue team that brought them off the mountain early Monday morning.
“This mountain is as rugged as any. Do not underestimate the mountain, and do not overestimate your own skill and preparedness,” Sypitkowski said.
Related: Crossing the Knife Edge
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