A hiker was seriously injured in a fall on the Tanbark Trail in Phoenicia on Sunday afternoon.
Around 3pm Sunday, Shandaken police and first responders received a call that a hiker had fallen down a cliff roughly 40 feet high, according to Shandaken Ambulance Service captain Rich Muellerleile.
The spot where the man had fallen was about a 20 to 30 minute hike from the trailhead at Parish Field in Phoenicia, Muellerleile said. Upon arriving, responders found a 27-year-old man with a serious head injury.
The man, whose name has not been released, was hiking with two other people when he fell. He was carried out of the woods to Parish Field by first responders, then airlifted by helicopter to Albany Medical Center.
The Watershed Post was unable to find out the man's condition on Sunday evening. A nurse at Albany Medical Center said that the hospital could not release any report on a patient's condition without a name.
With the weather warming up, prime hiking season is getting underway in the Catskills. Muellerleile said that hikers should be careful on trails in the region.
"We've had one accident there already this year," he said. "Be prepared if you're going out there, and make sure you're wearing proper footwear, and going with a group of people."
Responding to the accident on Sunday were the Shandaken Police, fire companies from Phoenicia, Olive and Big Indian, Shandaken Ambulance, and LifeNet of New York.
