Hiker dies after fall from rock ledge on trail to one of New York's tallest waterfalls
A 70-year-old hiker died after falling on a popular Catskill Mountains trail in the town of Hunter, Greene County, on Friday.
New York State Police responded at 6:16 p.m. to a call reporting an injured hiker in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest, according to the agency. Forest rangers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation also responded.
Jack Wersching, 70, of Park Ridge, Illinois, was injured after falling from a rock ledge onto the stone steps of the Kaaterskill Falls Access Trail, police said.
Responders provided medical assistance and carried Wersching to the trailhead, where emergency crews attempted to stabilize him for helicopter transport to a hospital. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
'DEC sends our condolences to the hiker's family and thanks the first responders for their efforts,' the agency said in a statement.
Kaaterskill Falls, a two-tiered waterfall, is among the Catskills' most popular hiking destinations, estimated to draw more than 150,000 visitors annually. But its steep terrain and slippery rocks have contributed to at least 10 deaths since 1992, including several cases in which hikers fell over the falls while attempting to take photos. Two people died in the summer of 2014. The DEC briefly restricted access to the falls for upgrades in 2015.
State officials have invested more than $1 million over the past decade on safety improvements, including the installation of warning signs, fences, stone steps, a viewing platform and guardrails at the top of the falls.
The falls total about 260 feet in tandem, making the combined drop taller than Niagara Falls and Taughannock Falls.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Illinois hiker dies on Kaaterskill Falls trail in Catskills. New York
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