In South Hadley, crews had to rescue a man stranded in the woods for nearly a day after he was injured while on a hike with his dog. The South Hadley Fire chief said that the man was hiking near Lithia Springs trailhead around 2 p.m. Sunday when he fell and could not get up due to his injuries. Both he and his dog were forced to spend the night in the woods and temperatures were frigid, reaching around 29 degrees. Luckily, someone who was out there hiking Monday morning heard him yelling for help. Chief Ryan Moore says they got the call around 9:00 Monday morning and they finally rescued the hiker around noon time after utilizing UTVs and mutual aid from several surrounding fire departments including Westover, Granby and Hadley. The hiker was then taken to the hospital. No word yet on the severity of his injuries. However, his dog seems to be doing just fine. Chief Moore shared this advice for hikers following this rescue: “Make sure you have your cell phone with you, that it’s charged. Make sure you know the area that you’re going into, be familiar with the trails, and yeah, don’t go anywhere that looks too dangerous.”
