Maine Rangers Rescue a Hiker Who Fell 8 Feet in Baxter State Park

An Orrington woman is recovering after falling nearly 8 feet while hiking in Baxter State Park over the weekend.

Jody Croft is well-known around the town of Orrington, not only because she's a nice woman, but also because she walks all the time. We've all learned not to stop and offer Jody a ride when we see her walking far from her house because we know she'll just turn us down. She loves to walk.

That passion for walking turned dangerous on Sunday, however, when Jody was hiking with a friend on Traveler Mountain, doing the Travelers Loop trail. They had been hiking for about 3 hours and were just about to reach the Peak of the Ridges when they missed one of the trail markers. Both hikers turned around and backtracked and that's when Jody fell. She told me she fell a total of about 8 feet from where she was originally standing, landing on the right side of her head. She said this is where they were walking when she took her tumble.

Jody's friend called 911 after walking around for a bit before finding a place with a cell signal.

Maine Forest Rangers Justin Carney and Chris Blackie showed up to help Jody off the trail.

A helicopter landed on the rocks and then carried her to the hospital in Millinocket, where she was later transported to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. After all the testing, they determined she has a concussion, injuries to her leg and wrist, and a lot of bruising. The Rangers told her if she'd landed on anything other than a flat rock, she probably wouldn't have survived.

Jody Croft sends her thanks to Rangers Carney and Blackie for their quick response and rescue.

They deserve so many thank you's from me. They are my heroes.

The response from the Rangers on the Maine Forest Rangers Facebook page was simple: "Glad to help."

I'll add my thank you to the members of the Maine Forest Rangers for keeping all of us safe as we explore the wilds of Maine. We're lucky to have you.