35°
Crews responded to Mount Carmel mountain at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6 to rescue "another lost hiker in the dark," Fire Chief Gary Merwede wrote on the department's Twitter page.
Merwede announced that a rescue team had located the hiker, who was uninjured, in a later Tweet at approximately 9:15 p.m.
Members of the Hamden Fire Department said they have sent teams to rescue at least twice as many hikers on area trails since stay-at-home orders were issued in March. Generally, the department responds to about 200 calls from hikers requesting assistance on Sleeping Giant per year.
“There are more inexperienced hikers outdoors using trails which has pros/cons,” said executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association Eric Hammerling to Firehouse. “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.”
Hammerling said that even experienced hikers can head out unprepared.
On the week of July 29, six hikers found themselves lost at Sleeping Giant and required their assistance, according to the New Haven Register.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Torrington and receive free news updates.
