DEAD RIVER TOWNSHIP -- Nearly 30 backcountry rescue workers worked through the night Thursday, hiking through storms, lightning and steep terrain to reach an injured Appalachian Trail hiker stranded on top of 3,000-foot Little Bigelow Mountain.

The man was identified as Lloyd Hannula, 65, of Westminster, Mass., said fire-rescue officials. Hannula was listed in stable condition at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, a hospital spokesman said Friday.

The rescue began at noon Thursday and continued until 2:30 a.m. Friday.

"The rocks were slick from the rain at the top and he got his foot caught in a crevice. The rest of his body just kept going," said Michael Senecal, director of operations for NorthStar EMS and one of the first rescuers on the scene.

Hannula had fractured his lower leg while hiking.

"By the time we got back down, nobody had a dry piece of clothing on them," Senecal said. "We had to hike in over very rough terrain that was very slippery, rocky and steep."

The rescue was coordinated by the Carrabassett Valley Fire Department and NorthStar. Responding were firefighters from New Portland, Rangeley, Kingfield and Eustis along with NorthStar's backcountry medical response team and Franklin County Search & Rescue.

Rescuers set up a command base was at the Appalachian Trail head on the east side of Flagstaff Lake near Long Falls Dam Road. Franklin County responders reached the base by driving in from Carrabassett Valley on Route 27, and Somerset County crews used Long Falls Dam Road, Senecal said.

A "hasty team" of four NorthStar responders -- a team that travels light and quickly to reach a victim quickly -- stabilized Hannula, radioed to the base the extent of his injuries and advised the type of further help needed, Senecal said. A second team approached from the back side of the mountain on the Stafford Brook Trail.

Both routes were more than six miles long.

The 150-pound patient had to be carried out in a rescue basket that takes six people to lift.

"There are a lot of tired folks today. That is a long carry-out to do with 25 or so people. Ideally, you should have 24 people per mile," Senecal said. "Everyone did a really good job and it was a very big team effort. To have that many people come out in those conditions when they know they have to get up the next morning to go to work is just great."

Before his accident, Hannula and a companion were "section hikers" on the Appalachian Trail and were tackling portions of the trail at a time. Well-equipped for the hike, they already had logged 1,000 miles on the 2,175 mile-long trail, Senecal was told. They intended to end this trip at the Long Falls Dam Road trailhead, where they had left a car.

As is typical, there were many hikers on the trail Thursday, and two who were wilderness-rescue trained camp counselors played a role, Senecal said.

The counselors, who were with a group of 20 adults, provided Hannula with first aid before the NorthStar crew arrived.

Assistant New Portland Fire Chief Wayne Rundlett said this was the most extensive backcountry rescue his department has responded to in memory. He said he is not a hiker and never hiked up Little Bigelow before.

"It was difficult. The worst part was carrying down the basket. In daylight, it would have been much easier," he said. "We had flashlights and thank goodness for the white strips of paint on the trees along the trail."

"We're all pretty beat today," he said.

The NorthStar EMS responders were Becky Morin, Mike Senecal, Carl Blondell, Pete Boucher and Chip Eames.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com