Hiker Rescued from Kilkenny Ridge Trail

CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
May 5, 2025

Berlin, NH – At approximately 3:45 p.m. on Saturday May 3, a NH Fish and Game Conservation Officer was notified about a hiker who had called 911 after becoming lost off the Kilkenny Ridge Trail between Weeks and Middle Weeks Mountains. The hiker also reported that he was wet and cold and did not possess a light source or other essential gear. After the initial call to 911, the Conservation Officer attempted to call the hiker back several times to try to assist him in finding the trail and hopefully resulting in a self-rescue, but was unable to make contact with him. With a level of uncertainty about the situation and with an impending forecast of heavy rain and concern for possible hypothermia, a rescue response was initiated.

Along with NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers, volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR) and Berlin Fire Department (BFD) responded to the call. The hiker, identified as Richard De Reyna, 57, of Westwood, MA, was 4.5 miles from the closest road. So AVSAR and Conservation Officers came in via the old unmaintained York Pond Trail in East Lancaster, while the BFD members hiked in via the trailhead off York Pond Road in Berlin.

The team of AVSAR and Conservation Officers hiked off trail up a drainage as the closest point to reach De Reyna and successfully found him at 9:19 p.m. He was still at the exact coordinates where he made his 911 call. De Reyna was wet, cold, and mildly hypothermic and was provided warm, dry clothes, warm liquids, and a light source from the rescue crew. The group then hiked 2.4 miles down to an awaiting ATV where de Reyna was driven out the remaining 2 miles, arriving at the staged vehicles at 1:45 a.m.

De Reyna had started his hike at 8:00 a.m. from the York Pond Trailhead off York Pond Road in Berlin with the intention of summiting Mt. Weeks, Middle Weeks, and Mt. Weeks–South Peak and then returning the same way. Upon reaching the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, he found deep snow conditions and kept losing the trail as he continued on. He was able to keep relocating the trail via a mapping program on his cell phone, but in doing so, drained the battery to the point that he was only able to make a 911 call and report his situation before the battery completely died. De Reyna has over 25 years of hiking experience, but was unaware of the snow conditions still present in the upper levels of the White Mountains and was therefore not prepared for the conditions he faced.

Hikers are encouraged to be prepared for their trek to include packing the ten essential items: map, compass, warm clothing, extra food and water, headlamp, fire starter, first aid kit, whistle, rain/wind jackets and pants, and a knife. In addition, it is important to turn your phone off or place it in airplane mode to ensure you have enough battery life remaining if you do require assistance. For more information about preparing for your hike, please see www.hikeSafe.com.