Three hikers who wandered off the Cornish Trail in Cold Spring called for help at 9:44 p.m. on March 19, necessitating a dramatic evening rescue. “It’s relatively common that people wait until the last minute to call,” said the Cold Spring fire chief. “Obviously we’d rather take care of the issue when the sun is out.”

Officials are urging hikers to not wander off trails after a dramatic rescue on Saturday night in Cold Spring’s Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve, known for its steep overlooks of the Hudson River along popular hikes like Breakneck Ridge.

Cold Spring Fire Chief Jeffrey Phillips Jr. said his department got a call at 9:44 p.m. on Saturday, March 19 about three hikers stranded on a cliff near the Cornish Trail, a long ridgeline hike that leads to the 1,400-foot Bull Hill, also known as Mt. Taurus.

The hikers were near one of the first viewpoints halfway up Bull Hill. Park police, state police, and park staff had determined that a rope rescue was necessary. Route 9D was closed, a command post was established at the bottom of the trail, and the Orange County Technical Rescue Team, which has a mutual aid agreement with the all-volunteer Cold Spring Fire Company No. 1, was dispatched.

Using ATVs from the Cold Spring Fire Co. and the North Highlands Fire Department, the rope team reached the area where the hikers were stranded, then hiked above the stranded hikers to set up small, bright LED lighting, and rappelled down to get to the hikers. The rescued hikers were then harnessed and lowered off the cliff and hiked, along with rescuers, back to the ATVs. None of the hikers, who were evaluated by emergency medical services, or rescuers were injured.

Phillips says any call for a mountain rescue in Putnam County triggers a call to Cold Spring Fire Co. and Philipstown Ambulance. If ATVs are required, a call to North Highlands is triggered, too. Emergency teams in neighboring counties can also be called as part of mutual aid agreements.

Phillips says Cold Spring is averaging about 15 such rescues per year for the past three years.

“In the state’ s eyes that’s not a lot, but it becomes a challenge sometimes, because you get the same guys doing it over and over again,” says Phillips, referring to the volunteer firefighters tapped to help hikers.

Phillips says there are common threads among such rescues.

“Almost all of the rope rescues that we’re called to is because somebody wandered off the trail,” he says. “The trails are marked. The state parks have been doing really well — everything is marked up almost perfectly. So there’s really no excuse for it.”

Phillips says the most important thing hikers can do is stay on marked trails, and to go in prepared. The three hikers rescued on Saturday had no light source and were inappropriately dressed for the weather.

Rescues at the more popular Breakneck Ridge Trail, whose trailhead is about a mile north of the Cornish Trail, also often require coming to the aid of people who weren’t adequately dressed, or prepared, for the intensity of the hike, says Phillips.

“We see a lot of people going up the mountain wearing open-toed shoes and stuff that you shouldn’t be walking on the side of the road in, let alone Breakneck. Do your research. Breakneck is a very intense trail. It’ s a lot of climbing. It’ s not exactly easy.”

Phillips says it’s also important that hikers heed warnings and rules about park hours and keep their hiking to between sunrise and sunset. And if hikers do get lost or require rescue, Phillips says it’s important to call for help right away.

“It’s relatively common that people wait until the last minute to call for help,” he says, noting that it’s his impression that people think they’ll get themselves out of the jam and then start to panic when the sun begins to set. “Obviously we’d rather take care of the issue when the sun is out.”

In a statement sent to Times Union Hudson Valley via email, a spokesperson for Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve described the conditions of the rescue “wet and dangerous.”

“The hikers had decided to go off a marked trail and bushwhack when they found themselves unable to proceed further due to the cliff. State Parks strongly advises hikers to stay on marked trails,” said the spokesperson.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the Cold Spring Fire Company No. 1 issued a strong warning to hikers in light of the incident.

“This is a reminder that the terrain of the Hudson Highlands can be extremely dangerous, and that leaving marked trails is hazardous and can lead to injury and death,” the statement said. “Stay on the marked trails at all times and properly observe the posted rules and regulations at the trailheads. And most importantly be prepared.”

Several additional departments responded to the scene to assist, including West Point Fire Department, Newburgh City Fire Department, Philipstown Ambulance, and Putnam County Battalion. Saturday night’s rescue mission took several hours; all responding departments were back in service by 2 a.m.

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