Hiker survives night on Mount Chocorua, loses dog [02/14/2006]

By David Carkhuff

A West Ossipee hiker survived a chilly Saturday night on Mount Chocorua but his dog, a small, white female Labrador cross, ran off during his rescue.Andrew Boutin, 22, of West Ossipee, survived with minor injuries after spending a frigid night on Mount Chocorua. He was hiking with his dog and wandered off the trail, following the dog's lead, near dusk on Saturday, reported Lt. Jim Goss of N.H. Fish and Game."He had been hiking Mount Chocorua and on his way back down the mountain he got off the trail," Goss reported.Boutin had frostbite on his hands and on one of his feet and was suffering from mild hypothermia when he was found by rescuers around 3:14 a.m. Sunday, Goss reported."He ended up falling into a brook and got his hands into the water," he said.Boutin used a cellular telephone to call his family, who called the police. N.H. Fish and Game received the call just prior to midnight Saturday. Two officers went up the Liberty Trail near Chocorua Lake. By 3:14 a.m. they found Boutin about 3.5 miles from the trailhead, just south of Liberty Cabin. Boutin had found his way back to the trail, Goss said.One conservation officer walked him back to a snowmobile, which was available to bring Boutin down the mountain more swiftly, and another officer walked with the dog, but the dog was spooked by the snowmobile and ran off, Goss reported.Boutin was returned to the trailhead by about 4:45 a.m., and a state trooper gave him a ride home, Goss said. Boutin sought medical treatment on his own and returned later to look for his dog. Authorities took him back to where the dog had run off."We had no luck doing that. We suggested and he did leave an article of clothing," Goss said.Boutin was lucky that a major storm that descended on the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states early Sunday, dropping nearly 2 feet of windblown snow in many areas, did not strike as far north and west as Mount Chocorua. But the morning still was frigid, dipping to the low teens. There was about a foot of packed snow along the trail, but the snow was too hard for Boutin to follow his own footprints, Goss said.Boutin was dressed for the conditions, which helped him survive, Goss noted. Falling into a brook was the kind of misfortune that could lead to a tragic ending for many hikers."Something like that could happen to anybody. Then, you compound the situation if you accidentally fall into a brook, or break a leg or get sick," Goss said.The dog, which looks like a miniature German shepherd, is called Laney and has a collar and tags, officials reported.Anyone who finds the dog, most likely in the area of Mount Chocorua or Chocorua Lake, is asked to call the Carroll County Sheriff's Department at 539-2284.Assistant Editor David Carkhuff can be contacted at david@conwaydailysun.com.