Hiker Carried Off N.H. Trail After Being Struck By Lighting, Refusing Help For Full Day
LANCASTER, New Hampshire (CBS) -- A Connecticut hiker who refused help for a full day after being struck by lightning was carried down a mountain trail by conservation officers Sunday night.
Glen Rowland, 51, of Newtown, Connecticut was struck by lightning while hiking on Crawford Path on Saturday, but continued on down the path in a state of weakness.
Not wanting to call for help, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, he slept in the scrub brush off the trail and "continued his slow and painful hike" in the morning.
Rowland told conservation officers that other hikers had offered him help several times, but he declined--until a group of Windham, New Hampshire firefighters found him around 9:30 p.m. Sunday and refused to let him keep going on his own.
The firefighters called New Hampshire Fish and Game, and helped Rowland get down the trail hand-in-hand. A team from Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue met them about one half mile up the trail, assessed Rowland, and carried him down in a litter.
Though Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue recommended he get further care at a hospital, Rowland declined, and a conservation officer gave him a ride to his car.
