Hiker lost in the Slide Mtn Wilderness [JUN 13]
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 3:12 pm
Wilderness Search in the Town of Denning in Ulster County:
On June 13 at 5:12 p.m., Ulster County requested Forest Ranger assistance with a lost hiker on Lone Mountain. The 46-year-old from Monroe was hiking four trailless peaks in the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area when they got lost. With minimal battery power, the hiker used a cell phone to call 911. Rangers Horn and Martin conducted linear searches of high probability areas. At 7 p.m., Rangers located the subject along the east branch of the Neversink River. Rangers escorted the subject back to their vehicle.
The Slide Mountain Wilderness is known for 9 mountain peaks. Some have trails to them, while others do not. Some experienced and fit hikers will do all 9 in one day. Others do all 4 without trails. And, some do 3 (slide, cornell, and wittenberg) in one day. The mountains without trails need good route finding skills.
To do the 4 trailless peaks usually requires a car on Moonhaw Road and another at the Neversink Parking Area. So, there are questions to how a single hikers can drive 2 cars. From the limited information, the hiker probably started at the Neversink and had problems on Lone Mtn. Lone Mtn can be confusing for a hikers first time hiking it.
Here is a list of them:
Slide Mountain (trail)
Cornell Mountain (trail)
Wittenberg Mountain (trail)
Peekamoose Mountain (trail)
table Mountain (trail)
Lone Mountain (no trail)
Rocky Mountain (no trail)
Balsam Cap mountain (no trail)
Friday Mountain (no Trail)
On June 13 at 5:12 p.m., Ulster County requested Forest Ranger assistance with a lost hiker on Lone Mountain. The 46-year-old from Monroe was hiking four trailless peaks in the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area when they got lost. With minimal battery power, the hiker used a cell phone to call 911. Rangers Horn and Martin conducted linear searches of high probability areas. At 7 p.m., Rangers located the subject along the east branch of the Neversink River. Rangers escorted the subject back to their vehicle.
The Slide Mountain Wilderness is known for 9 mountain peaks. Some have trails to them, while others do not. Some experienced and fit hikers will do all 9 in one day. Others do all 4 without trails. And, some do 3 (slide, cornell, and wittenberg) in one day. The mountains without trails need good route finding skills.
To do the 4 trailless peaks usually requires a car on Moonhaw Road and another at the Neversink Parking Area. So, there are questions to how a single hikers can drive 2 cars. From the limited information, the hiker probably started at the Neversink and had problems on Lone Mtn. Lone Mtn can be confusing for a hikers first time hiking it.
Here is a list of them:
Slide Mountain (trail)
Cornell Mountain (trail)
Wittenberg Mountain (trail)
Peekamoose Mountain (trail)
table Mountain (trail)
Lone Mountain (no trail)
Rocky Mountain (no trail)
Balsam Cap mountain (no trail)
Friday Mountain (no Trail)