The rescue effort began at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday when the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Ray Brook dispatch received a call at about 8:45 pm Wednesday from the spouse of hiker reporting that they were overdue in the Dix Range, a rugged and largely trail-less line of five mountains over 4,000 feet.
The 58-year-old from Mechanicville (about 1.5 hours away in Saratoga County) had planned a two-day excursion which began on Tuesday, but was last heard from around 7:15 am Wednesday, some six miles from the trailhead.
The hiker reported making slow progress, having difficulty moving through the deep unbroken snow. There is more than three feet of snow in the Dix Range at lower elevations, and as many as several feet more at higher elevations. A steady snow fell Wednesday afternoon and evening adding 7-10 inches…