February 22, 2022
LINCOLN, NEW HAMPSHIRE–A Jersey City woman was rescued from a hiking trail in Lincoln, New Hampshire on Sunday. New Hampshire Fish and Game report that At 4:30 p.m. on February 20, 2022 the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department was notified of a hiker in distress on the Liberty Springs Trail in Lincoln. The hiker was not able to continue descending the trail and a companion with her called 911 for help. The hikers were only planning a day hike and did not have the equipment to spend the night. Conservation Officers and volunteers with the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue team responded to mount a rescue effort as darkness approached.
At 5:56 p.m. a Conservation Officer met the hiker, who was slowly hiking down, about one mile from the trailhead. The distressed hiker was identified as Aleeza Shaikh, 26, from Jersey City, NJ. A group of Good Samaritan hikers also descending the trail had come across Aleeza, who was laying in the trail at the time, and provided her help to start moving again. Aleeza was able to hike the rest of the way down the trail with minor assistance, accompanied by a small rescue party. She reached the Liberty Springs parking lot without further incident at 7:00 pm. Due to the inaccurate planning and inadequate equipment of the hiker, the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department will be recommending that she be billed for this preventable rescue.
Hiking in the White Mountains can be extremely challenging and quickly become dangerous, even deadly, especially in winter conditions. People often underestimate the time required to complete a mountain hike in snowy and icy conditions. It is also easy to be deceived by trail distances, as hiking 4 miles on flat ground does not require nearly as much energy as hiking 4 miles in steep terrain. Conservation Officers would like remind everyone to plan for a safe hike and give plenty of time. Always bring dedicated lights, even on a day hike. For information please visit http://www.hikesafe.com/ for more information.
Franconia Notch State Park is a public recreation area and nature preserve that straddles eight miles of Interstate 93 as it passes through Franconia Notch, a mountain pass between the Kinsman Range and Franconia Range in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, United States. MidJersey.News file photo of the area of the rescue.