New York state forest rangers face a growing pace of searches and rescues in the Adirondack Park. Today we're looking at one of the big factors contributing to the spike of emergencies in the back country. State officials and outdoor experts say too many hikers and campers are coming to the North Country unprepared. Sometimes that leads to tragic outcomes.

Unprepared to survive

Last month when forest rangers were searching for Alex Stevens deep in the Adirondack backcountry, it quickly became clear that the 28-year-old hiker from New Jersey was out of his element, without the right skills or equipment.

"He’s not very well prepared, be real clear on that," said Lt. Brian Dubay the incident commander in Newcomb. "We believe any warm weather clothing that he thought he had we consider to be inferior. He had a lot of cotton. We believe that he purchased a hammock."

Early in his trip into the High Peaks wilderness, Stevens was caught in cold rain. His lack of foresight proved fatal. Frank Whitelaw is the Essex county coroner called in after Stevens body was recovered.

"He certainly didn’t have any food with him, he didn’t have a compass, and he didn’t have the means to start a fire," Whitelaw said. "When you don’t eat, you’re going to make bad decisions and you’re not going to be able to function after a while."

Biting off more than they can chew

Backcountry experts and outdoor guides say more and more people are turning up in the Adirondacks - even some of the most remote parts of the Adirondacks - without anything like the proper equipment or training. That’s contributed to a surge in the number of searches, the number of rescues and the number of deaths in the backcountry.

"Many of these rescues are happening because people bite off more than they can chew," said Basil Seggos, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

"They're coming into the outdoors, they're not prepared for it, they don't have a plan, they haven't talked to anybody, they don't have any emergency equipment. The public has to have safety in mind when they go and try to bag a peak."

When a day trip turns into a night in the north woods

There’s a growing sense in the Park that this message isn’t getting across. To many people are learning about the Adirondack Mountains through tourism marketing campaigns and social media but they’re not grasping the fact that wild country poses real risks.

Eric Lahr heads the New York state forest ranger division. He says even people planning a short outing in the Park should think about survival. "If they're planning for a day hike, they need to come prepared to stay then night. You can only teach folks that so much."

Another thing that forest rangers say visitors aren’t grasping is that conditions here often differ wildly from what they experience back home or at lower elevations. "Bring the appropriate equipment not only for the weather you're experiencing at home," said Lt. Brian Dubay. "You go up on the summit of Marcy and it’s like going up to James Bay in Canada, temperature-wise, and then you add winds on top of that."

Talking about readiness

Martha Foley: Brian, you reported this story and you spend a lot of time hiking and camping in the Adirondacks. Let's talk a bit more about readiness. What do people need when they go into the backcountry?

Brian Mann: The basic idea that you heard there from the experts is that they should plan to spend the night. If things go wrong and you wind up out there, are you ready? Can you handle a cold rain shower? So, some kind of good layered warm clothing with a rain shell. A way to make fire and the skills to actually get a fire lit. Bring plenty of food, and even more importantly, plenty of water. A lot of hikers are just getting dehydrated. And bring a flashlight or headlamp. If you start to lose daylight, having a light to show you the trailmarkers can be key.

MF: Another thing that seems key, Brian, is letting someone know where you're going and when to expect you back.

BM: That's right. Alex Stevens, the hiker from New Jersey who died last month, might be alive today if he had left clear information with someone about where he was going, for how long. It's also important for people, especially people who don't have a lot of skills, to hike with a partner. Going into the backcountry alone really increases your risk factor. It's also important to have a map and compass and to have basic familiarity with how to use them.

MF: But right now a lot of people - a growing number of people - are heading for the Park without those skills or equipment.

BM: Right. You hear it more and more from guides, from outfitters, from forest rangers. I've seen it myself - more and more people in the deep woods, even in winter, who don't have the right gear, who don't have a back-up plan. I met a guy last winter on Hurricane who was attempting to climb over icy rocks in flat-soled shoes. He was wearing cotton and he told me no one knew he was up there. I finally convinced him to climb back down. Which raises another important point. Now that the weather is turning colder and we're losing daylight, people need to be even better prepared, more vigilant.

Read the Department of Environmental Conservation advisory for travel in the High Peaks backcountry.

MF: Brian, you reported yesterday that this surge in hikers experiencing emergencies has put a lot of stress on forest rangers and first responders. What have you been hearing since that story aired?