Three hikers rescued in separate incidents in White Mountains

Rescuers helped three distressed hikers in New Hampshire’s White Mountains on Sunday, authorities said.

Around 2 p.m. near the summit of Mt. Osceola, Karen Johnson, 72, of Meriden, Conn., began experiencing “severe dehydration-like symptoms” and couldn’t continue her descent to a trailhead on Tripoli Road, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a statement.

Rescuers from the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team and Fish and Game conservation officers came to assist, and after some Good Samaritan hikers gave her “various rehydration sources,” she was able to hike again without assistance, officials said.

Rescuers met Johnson on the trail and hiked with her the remaining 1.1 miles to the trailhead, arriving shortly after 4:30 p.m., the statement said.

About 20 minutes later, another hiker was reported injured on Falling Waters Trail, officials said.

Karen Mannion, 59, of Nashua, N.H., had fallen and seriously hurt her upper leg, officials said.

A rescue party reached her at 5:30 p.m. and provided medical treatment before taking her less than a half-mile down the trail to Interstate 93, where an ambulance took her to Littleton Regional Healthcare. Mannion’s condition wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.

In the third incident, Diana Stroud, 33, of Belmont, was hiking a ridge loop on Mount Moosilauke by herself when she sustained a lower-leg injury that prevented her from getting down the mountain, officials said.

She was nearly three miles up the Gorge Brook Trail from the nearest road and rescuers reached her around 4 p.m. They carried her down the trail and arrived at the Dartmouth College Ravine Lodge shortly before 8 p.m.

“Stroud was well prepared for a day hike,” Fish and Game officials said.

The agency reminded the public to plan ahead and make “safe decisions” when enjoying the beauty of the White Mountains. “The White Mountains are rugged and unforgiving,” officials said. “To plan for a safe hike please visit www.hikesafe.com.”