CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
November 9, 2026
Sargent’s Purchase, NH – On Saturday, November 7, 2026, at approximately 5:00 p.m., NH Fish and Game was notified of a group of five hikers who were stranded on a steep section of the Huntington Ravine Trail in heavy rain and low visibility and could not continue down. A rescue response was initiated and volunteers from Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue along with Fish and Game Conservation Officers responded.
Due to the extended time it takes to get rescuers into this remote location, the group decided to try and descend when the rain subsided before rescuers arrived. Utilizing the gear they had with them, they were able to make it down a majority of the technical, steep terrain before they met up with the AMC hut caretaker around 7:45 p.m., who had hiked over from the Hermit Lake Shelter and was the first rescuer on scene.
None of the hikers were injured, and the AMC caretaker guided them down the rest of the Huntington Ravine Trail. The caretaker returned to the Hermit Lake Shelter while the hikers continued down Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center arriving at 10:00 p.m. The hikers were identified as: Andres Perez Gonzalez, 22, of Croton Falls, NY; Esteban Gonzalez, 23, of Cranston, RI; Robert Zieba, 23, of Albany, NY; Harrold Vega Montenegro, 26, of Malden, MA; and Jefferson Pazcoy, 22, of Brewster, NY. All had quality winter hiking and climbing gear to include ropes, crampons, microspikes, helmets, and multiple warm layers.