Two hikers from Maine were rescued after they were left stranded off-trail in Albany, N.H., on Friday night when darkness and steep terrain prevented them from returning to the trailhead, according to a statement from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
Shortly before 8 p.m., 23-year-old Brittney Austin of Lewiston, Maine, and 20-year-old Joshua Wheeler of Greene, Maine, were about 100 yards off the Mineral Site Loop Trail and more than a mile from the trailhead when it became too dark for them to safely continue, authorities said.
Their path to the trail was cut off by a large rock outcropping, according to the statement.
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The pair phoned 911 for assistance, and conservation officers found them around 10 p.m., and aided them in hiking around the ledges and back to the trail, according to the statement. They arrived back at the trailhead a little before 11 p.m.