A 52-year-old Massachusetts man died while on a hike in New Hampshire's White Mountains last Tuesday afternoon.
According to Boston 25 News, the hiker was a Topsfield resident. According to New Hampshire Fish and Game's Law Enforcement Division and Operation Game Thief, the deceased was on a trek with his family before suffering a medical emergency around 2 PM last Tuesday. The group was hiking between the summits of North and South peaks on the Kingsman Ridge Trail.
According to the New Hampshire Game and Fish, an Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter team assisted in the rescue efforts, as the group was 4 miles from the nearest trailhead at the time of the emergency. The chopper team finally reached the distressed hiker just before 4 PM. Upon arrival, the rescue team continued the life-saving measures that family members and other hikers had started.
Rescuers rushed the man to an ambulance, but he had sadly already died. He was then transported from the scene to Ross Funeral Home in Littleton, New Hampshire. The name of the deceased was not released, pending family notification.
Massachusetts Man Dies On New Hampshire Hiking Trail with Family
Last week's tragedy in Massachusetts is not the first of its kind this summer. Terribly, in Arizona, several hikes have turned dangerous this summer. Moreover, a father and daughter in Utah got lost in Canyonlands National Park earlier this summer, before sadly dying.
As summer begins to wind down, and students head back to school hiking season will certainly slow down. Likewise, as temperatures cool down, hikes will no longer be as heavily dependent on the weather that accompanies any day. In states like Arizona, many beautiful hiking trails can become complicated by the unrelenting heat of the summer months.
As of July 12th this year, AZ Central had reported 14 heat-related deaths in the Phoenix metro. With temperatures routinely hitting 110+ degrees Fahrenheit, hikes that are manageable in the spring and fall can suddenly become much more complicated.
Regardless of any weather variables, last week's tragedy in New Hampshire marks another hiking-related death this summer.
