Hiker using cell app as guide gets stuck on cliff. Annoyed rescuers plan to bill him

A Texas man ended up trapped on a cliff after he went into the New Hampshire wilderness with only a cell phone app as his guide, and rescuers let him stay there until the next day.

The team now intends to bill the guy for its trouble, citing his complete lack of preparation, the N.H. Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division said in a news release.

The hiker — a man from Whitney, Texas — had no flashlight, no compass and no map, officials said.

He was rescued Wednesday off the Great Gulf Headwall “after spending the night in a spot that he was not able to hike up or down,” according to the release.

This predicament “was compounded by the fact that (he) also did not possess any source of light.”

Investigators say the 66-year-old began hiking at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, with intentions of being picked up at the summit of Mt. Washington. However, “he made a wrong turn” off the Appalachian Trail, sending him deeper into the Great Gulf Wilderness, officials said.

“As (he) made his way into the Great Gulf Wilderness he attempted to navigate his way to the summit of (Mt.) Washington using only a cell phone app,” officials said. “It was reported to Conservation Officers that (he) followed his cell phone app to a location off trail where he became stranded.”

A photo shared by the state on Facebook shows the hiker was trapped among trees and shrubs growing from a steep rock wall.

The hiker’s partner placed a call for help around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday “and with all the facts and circumstances, a decision was made to have (the man) stay the night,” officials said.

Rescuers set out the next morning and found the man stuck precariously about one-tenth of a mile off the trail, officials said. Multiple teams responded, eventually bringing the man to the mountain’s summit around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.

“Because of his lack of essential items and poor choices throughout the entirety of (his) hike it has been recommended that he be billed for the expenses associated with the rescue,” the state said.

Details of the cost were not released.

The hiker was trapped in an area described as “a glacial valley that lies between Mt. Washington and the Northern Presidential Range in New Hampshire,” according to Sectionhiker.com.

“It’s ground zero for many of the toughest and steepest trails in the White Mountains,” the site says.

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 2:07 PM.