Rangers Race To Save Smoky Hikers

National Park Service rangers set out Wednesday to rescue four young men who became stranded in snow while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

One of the young men was showing signs of hypothermia, including vomiting and slurred speech, said Nancy Gray, a spokeswoman for Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee.

Three rangers, one a medic, set out by all-terrain vehicle and on foot to reach the three-sided hikers shelter where the four were stranded.

The men, ages 18-20, started out at Fontana Lake, N.C., during good weather on Sunday with plans to hike the 71 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the park.

However, they were "ill equipped" when rain started falling Monday and then turned to snow, Gray said.

About 8 inches of snow was on the ground by the time six backpackers came across the four hikers about noon Tuesday. Four backpackers stayed with them and the other two went for help.

Gray said park officials were assembling litter teams in case anyone needs to be carried out and had put a rescue helicopter on standby.

The park straddles the line between North Carolina and Tennessee and is the most visited of the national parks.