Above: Kaaterskill Falls in winter 2007. Photo by Jason, via Flickr.
Editor's Note: The DEC's press release about this rescue reported erroneously that the incident occurred on Kaaterskill Falls, which has a notoriously dangerous unofficial trail that is currently closed to the public. In fact, according to DEC staffers who have followed up with the Watershed Post, the rescue did not happen on Kaaterskill Falls, but rather at nearby Bastion Falls, where the trails are open to the public. This story has been substantially edited to remove information about Kaaterskill Falls. The original, and erroneous, story we published is reproduced at the bottom of this post.
Edited story:
On Saturday, Jan. 16, New York State Forest Rangers rescued three hikers who became stranded on Bastion Falls in the Greene County town of Hunter.
According to a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, three male hikers called 911 after getting stranded near the top of Bastion Falls around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Three DEC Forest Rangers responded to the call and set up a rope safety line that allowed the hikers to "safely hike up the trail to the top of the falls," according to the press release. "The hikers met the rangers at the top of the falls and then walked out safely on the rail trail."
Original story:
On Saturday, Jan. 16, New York State Forest Rangers rescued three hikers who became stranded on Bastion Falls a notoriously dangerous unofficial trail near the top of Kaaterskill Falls, a 260-foot double-decker waterfall in the Greene County town of Hunter.
According to a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, three male hikers called 911 after getting stranded near the top of Kaaterskill Falls around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Three DEC Forest Rangers responded to the call and set up a rope safety line that allowed the hikers to "safely hike up the trail to the top of the falls," according to the press release. "The hikers met the rangers at the top of the falls and then walked out safely on the rail trail."
So many people have fallen to their deaths at Kaaterskill Falls that the DEC restricted access to the site last summer in order to install $450,000 in safety improvements which have yet to be completed, according to the Daily Mail. Access to the unofficial trail alongside the falls is prohibited during construction, according to a DEC press release.
Correction: The cost of the upgrades to Kaaterskill Falls is $450,000, not $450 million, as a previous version of this story stated.
