Backcountry rescue assists injured hiker on Camel’s Hump

August 13, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti

Waterbury Backcountry Rescue recently responded to Camel’s Hump to assist an injured 16-year-old hiker. 

At the Monroe Trail parking lot in Duxbury, Lt. Adam Mattesich and Brian Lindner with Waterbury Backcountry Rescue prep to send the ATV to the rescue staging area on Camel's Hump. Courtesy photo

The call took place on Aug. 2, shortly after 3 p.m., according to a press release from crew member Brian Lindner. 

The teen, from Middlebury, was hiking with his father and friends when he slipped on a rock and thought he had broken his ankle as they descended Camel’s Hump. This mishap took place about 1.5 miles up the trail, about a 20-minute hike above the Dean Trail intersection on the Monroe Trail in Duxbury, below the steeper and more difficult terrain.

None of the group members had any cell phone service, so one individual took their phones and began heading down the trail until he found minimal coverage on one phone to call 911.

Waterbury Backcountry Rescue received word of the emergency at 3:42 p.m. At the time, rain was forecasted to be moving in during the next couple of hours.

The team responded and set up a command post 30 minutes later at 4:17 p.m. at the Monroe Trail parking lot in Duxbury. The first team of EMTs headed up the trail on foot at 4:34 p.m., according to the account. 

The crew reached the patient at 5:14 p.m. and evaluated the injury. It was determined this was a sprained ankle, and the patient said he felt he could walk with assistance.

The hiker was placed in a climbing harness that gave rescuers a way to hold and steady him as the group slowly made their way down to where additional members of the backcountry rescue team had staged an ATV.

The patient was assisted to the ATV and then driven down to the base, arriving at 6:10 p.m., the report noted.  

Rescuers consulted with the hiker and his parents, who agreed an ambulance was not needed. The family said they would seek medical care, the report says. 

This was Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team’s 301st rescue, Lindner noted, adding that it was unusual because it was conducted entirely in daylight. Twelve members of the team took part in the rescue.