LANCASTER — New Hampshire Fish and Game Department officials had another busy summer weekend of assisting White Mountains hikers. The more serious incidents included a 54-year-old Philadelphia doctor who fell and sustained a serious arm injury, and a Connecticut woman who experienced knee problems that left her unable to walk, according to Fish and Game officer Matthew Holmes at the Region One office in Lancaster.

The serious problems began shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday when, according to Holmes, he was dispatched to Mt. Washington's Jewel Trail to assist a Florida family whose only flashlight had dead batteries.

Holmes hiked in from the Cog Railway and found the stranded family shortly after midnight. Using borrowed lights, the “exhausted family of four” followed Holmes back to their vehicle, arriving safely just before 1 a.m. Saturday.

At about 6 p.m. Saturday, Fish and Game officer Chris Egan responded to First Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg to search for a missing teenager from Massachusetts.

“The young man's family reported that he had planned to hike from a beach down a snowmobile trail and return to a rental cabin. When he did not arrive at the cabin in a timely manner, the teen's family conducted a search of their own,” Holmes wrote.

Unsuccessful, the family then called for help. Egan and Pittsburg police officer Adam Cheney then searched the area along the intended route. Cheney located the youngster at about 6:40 p.m., on the shore of First Connecticut Lake.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Fish and Game officers were notified that a Connecticut woman on a hike had to be helped to the Hermit Lake Appalachian Mountain Club shelter after she experienced knee problems on Mt. Washington's Tuckerman Ravine Trail. She was in pain and unable to walk.

“(A) plan was formulated to extract the injured woman using an ATV. Conservation Officer Lt. Douglas Gralenski was the first officer to arrive on scene after successfully negotiating the Sherburne Ski Trail with an ATV,” Holmes said in a news release.

The woman rode with Gralenski back down the Sherburne trail to the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, arriving there shortly before 10 p.m., according to Holmes.

While that effort was in progress, calls came in regarding two other injured hikers in the same area. They were able to reach the same visitors center without Fish and Game assistance.

Just before 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Fish and Game was called about the Philadelphia doctor who had fallen while hiking Lowe's Path on Mt. Adams.

Members of his party rendered first aid for his arm injury and called for help. Gralenski contacted the New Hampshire Army National Guard and asked for the assistance of a helicopter. It arrived on Mt. Adams at approximately 1 p.m. The man was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon for evaluation and treatment. Appalachian Mountain Club members assisted by bringing gear to the scene and providing radio support.

“Search and Rescue responsibilities this weekend have utilized virtually all types of the gear, training and volunteer resources that we have available to us, ” Holmes wrote.

“Everything from flashlights to ATVs to boats to helicopters were used to accomplish missions that happened within a 48 hour time frame.”

bhookway@newstote.com