The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Rescues increase amid pandemic
On the trails, ‘when more people use them, more things happen’
Rescue calls for lost or injured hikers always tick up during spring and summer, but officials say this year has seen an unusually high number.
Between March, when pandemic-related stay-athome orders began, to the end of July, Hamden firefighters have responded to twice as many rescue calls at Sleeping Giant State Park compared to the same time last year, Hamden Fire Chief Gary Merwede said.
“When the weather gets better, more people use the parks, which we like to see; but when more people use them, more things happen,” he said.
The Hamden Fire Department rescued six hikers in one week in three separate incidents at the end of July, and then another lost hiker a few days later. Merwede said preventing such incidents comes down to people needing to be prepared.
“Sleeping Giant isn’t treacherous, but if you’re unfamiliar with the trails and starting out on a humid, hot day and don’t
bring water you can get yourself into trouble,” Merwede said. “It’s always a good idea to bring water and to hike with a friend.”
In one instance, a teenage hiker got lost when he ventured off a different trail from his group and, with a dead cellphone, couldn’t find his way back, Merwede said. Fire rescue found him by having his friends describe where they had hiked and had last seen him.
Another evening, an inexperienced solo hiker ventured onto a Sleeping Giant trail near sunset but couldn’t find his way out. He was only able to tell the rescue team the color marking of the trail he’d been on before the hiker’s phone battery died.
When hikers are able to stay connected to the rescue team, Merwede said they’ll use the U.S. National Grid, which can pinpoint people down to a few meters, to find hikers and guide them out.
In another recent incident, a family of four out on a sunset hike called 911 after it began to grow dark and they couldn’t find the path to make it back to their car. Merwede said the family pulled up the USNG on their phone and the rescue commander was able to plot their location.
Merwede said they’ll respond to an average of about 200 calls per year at Sleeping Giant. Usually these rescue calls are minor — a twisted ankle, slip and fall — but they can be serious incidents that need medical intervention and be dangerous for people if they’re far into the woods, Merwede said.
Even more rare is when the department needs to use ropes and rigging to extract people, Merwede said.
“It’s usually they they’re not familiar with where they are,” he said. “Their anxiety starts to go up because they’re disoriented and that can trigger medical symptoms,” he said.
A few serious incidents have occurred since the pandemic began. In early April, a rescue crew carried a woman who suffered an ankle injury out of the woods at Sleeping Giant and in June New Haven firefighters rescued a hiker who’d fall off a cliff at West Rock Park.
Eric Hammerling, executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association, said the increase in incidents is “simple math”.
“There are more inexperienced hikers outdoors using trails which has pros/ cons,” Hammerling said in an email. “The pro is that we are really pleased that more people are getting outdoors. The con is that people who may be inexperienced may not prepare properly for an outdoor outing (of course, there are many people who are experienced trail users who also don’t prepare properly).”
As one of the most popular and highly used state parks in Connecticut, it’s common for the Sleeping Giant to reach capacity before noon during the summer on weekends, but Hamden doesn’t receive special funding or assistance for responding to these rescue calls.
“We’re here anyway and it’s part of our 33 square miles,” Merwede said. “When someone needs help we’re going to do our best to help them.”
On a recent evening rescue, an officer from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection assisted with the incident, but Merwede said there’s risk with anyone going into the park after dark, even a DEEP officer.
Merwede said there’s no overtime directly tied to calls to the park since responses are done by regularly staffed personnel. The cost for maintaining their rescue equipment, which is used in rescues outside the park also, is built into the town budget, he said
However, if there’s a fire in the park, the state will send manpower support to assist Hamden or if they damage an outdoor fire hose responding there, the state will replace it, Merwede said.
It’s not only Sleeping Giant that’s seen more traffic on its hills.
Trail use data collected by the University of Connecticut Trails Census showed a 50 percent increase in trail use in April and May compared to the same month last year and a 65 percent usage increase during June over the prior year.
Paths including the Hop River Trail in Vernon, the Norwalk River Valley Trail in Wilton and the Air Line Trail in East Hampton, and Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Hamden have been those with the largest use increases.
While these were already popular trails, the study has also found people are using the less traveled trails more than before.
“As some popular trails reach a social distancing limit, users are opting for less busy trails, the report said. “Other trails may be reaching limits constrained by visitor parking capacity and temporary closures,
such as the Shoreline Greenway Trail in Madison.”
Both DEEP and the CFPA have been promoting underused trails to help people socially distance while hiking and walking. The CFPA also shares resources on their website for trail safety including how to read trail maps, checking weather and what to bring hiking for safety.
It’s not only on hiking trails where people have been venturing — it’s roads and waterways, too.
Scott Maxwell, general manager of Outdoor Sports Center in Wilton, said beginning in early April, they have seen a huge demand for bicycles and bicycle repairs then “as it got warmer paddling became the next big thing.”
It’s been both beginners and longtime outdoor adventurers looking for equipment and outfitting, Maxwell said, and people
have been excited about having time to try new activities or get back into old ones. Because of this, his store and other are selling out of the equipment while the production end of it has been slowed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nevertheless, Maxwell said when customers are coming to them, a large part of their business is working with people to find out what people are interested in exploring and what their level is.
“It’s our job to help prepare out customers,” Maxwell said. “It’s not only to supply the goods, but also to educate them in how to do these activities safely. We’re not just selling you something and sending you out the door, because we want people to become bicycles and paddlers forever.”
Maxwell said as longtime outdoor enthusiasts, they
know what it’s like to be unprepared and just as wearing a seat belt in their car is important, having a something like a life jacket when paddling can make all the difference.
“Imagine it’s a nice sunny day and it’s all hunky dory but if the weather turns unexpectedly, very quickly it can become a tragic event,” he said. “We work closely with our customers to educate them, so when you push off it the shore you’re prepared.”
Recently the Old Saybrook Fire Department rescued a stranded windsurfer after his board broke and he swam to Duck Island near Westport. Additionally, the sandbar connecting the Silver Sands beach and Charles Island in Milford sees a number of rescues every year as people get stranded on the island when the tide comes.