Two people were rescued from Mount Monadnock in separate incidents May 27.
State Fish and Game Department officers helped a Nashua man who suffered a head injury and a Massachusetts woman who hurt her leg — both injuries occurred around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a release from the department.
The Nashua man, 26-year-old Robert Ayars, was trying to cut down trees on the Marlborough Trail with a pocket handsaw when he was struck in the head by a small sapling that was bent by a downed tree. When Ayars cut the sapling (in what’s called a spring pole) toward the top of the tree, the trunk sprang back and caused “significant head trauma” to Ayars, according to the release. Ayars walked down the trail without assistance and was taken to a local hospital by a friend, the department said.
The fish and game department does not recommend trail maintenance to hikers, said David Walsh, the department’s chief District 4, which covers Mount Monadnock.
“That’s something he took on himself,” Walsh said. “I’m sure he regrets it.”
Officials also helped 58-year-old Terri Lynn Waters of Douglas, Massachusetts after she fell and hurt her leg on a steep section of the White Arrow Trail. Volunteers and rescue workers carried Douglas down to the park’s headquarters and she was taken to Monadnock Community Hospital.
The rescues of Waters and Ayars make the sixth and seventh rescues at Mt. Monadnock this year.