Rescuers carry injured Somerville woman, 25, nearly 2 miles down hiking path

Her fellow hikers helped the injured woman descend about 1,000 feet before rescuers arrived.

A 25-year-old woman slipped and fell while hiking on Edmands Path in Sargent’s Purchase on Sunday, officials say.

At 12:15 p.m., the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department was notified that a hiker was injured about two miles from the Edmands Path trailhead parking lot, according to a statement from the department.

Kyleigh Burns of Somerville injured her lower leg on the trail. People in her hiking group tried to treat the injury, but Burns “could not bear any weight” so 911 was called, the statement said.

Fellow hikers helped Burns to descend about 1,000 feet by “scooting herself down the trail” before rescuers arrived, authorities said.

Conservation officers and 22 volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue and Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue responded to the call for help.

Responders hiked up Edmands Path, put Burns into a rescue litter, and carried her down the trail, officials said.

They reached the parking lot at 4:30 p.m.

Burns declined taking an ambulance, and her hiking companions instead took her to a medical facility for treatment.

Lindsay Shachnow is a senior at Boston University majoring in Journalism with a minor in Political Science and covers general assignment news for Boston.com. She has reported for various publications, including Gotham Gazette, GBH News, The Dorchester Reporter, and MuckRock, and covered policy and legislation from the Massachusetts State House for The Boston Business Journal. At BU, Lindsay is the President of BU’s Society of Professional Journalists.