According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, on Nov. 14 at approximately 10:30 a.m. conservation officers were notified by Southwestern New Hampshire District Fire Mutual Aid Dispatch of an injured hiker. The hiker, 57-year-old Tina Sharby of Goffstown, was located a short distance below the summit of Mount Monadnock on the Spellman Trail near the Pumpelly Trail junction.
Park staff and an off-duty member of the Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance Service assisted Sharby down the mountain to the park headquarters, and a Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance transported Sharby to Monadnock Community Hospital for further evaluation and treatment.
While the Sharby rescue was ongoing, at approximately 12:45 p.m., conservation officers received a second call from Southwestern New Hampshire District Fire Mutual Aid of another hiker in need of assistance. Frederick Demarco, 53, of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, had made it to the summit when he fell and suffered a serious lower-leg injury.
Park staff, nearby hikers, members of the Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team and additional conservation officers responded to the summit of Mount Monadnock via the White Arrow Trail. After assessment by conservation officers, a call to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) helicopter was made and a landing zone was established. DHART later notified rescuers that they were unable to fly. It was then determined that the quickest way off the mountain would be to descend from the summit down the White Arrow Trail to the Old Toll Road. Rescue teams endured wet, steep and slippery trail conditions, along with snow at the summit.
While descending the White Arrow Trail with Demarco, at approximately 5:56 p.m., conservation officers received a call about a third injured hiker on the mountain. This hiker had also suffered a fall and was in need of assistance. KateriDemartino, 43 of Gardner, Mass., is a frequent hiker on Mount Monadnock, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game, and was out for an evening hike when she noticed all of the emergency vehicles and decided to try and assist. She ascended the White Arrow Trail to the summit and noticed no one was there. She then descended down the White Arrow Trail, but just before she got to where rescue teams were carrying Demarco, she fell and injured herself. Four rescuers had to leave Demarco and ascended back up the White Arrow Trail to the coordinates provided by her Demartino’s 911 call.
As Demarco was about to be put into the second Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance, a decision was made to have that ambulance respond to the top of the Toll Road for Demartino, whose condition was deteriorating and became a higher priority for transport to the hospital. Demartino was assisted down the trail to the top of the Old Toll Road arriving at approximately 7:45 p.m. She was then transported to Monadnock Community Hospital by the Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance.
A Peterborough Fire and Rescue Department ambulance was requested to transport Demarco to Monadnock Community Hospital because the two Jaffrey-Rindge ambulances were occupied by the other injured hikers.
Conservation officers would like to remind hikers that they should prepare for winter-like conditions this time of year, and that proper footwear, including micro-spikes, is essential.
For safe hiking tips and a list of essential gear, visit hikesafe.com.