SARGENT'S PURCHASE, N.H. — Five hikers who were stranded by heavy rain on a steep section of the Huntington Ravine Trail in Sargent's Purchase, New Hampshire, Saturday made it down most of the way on their own before a rescuer met them, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said Monday.

Fish and Game was told at about 5 p.m. that the group was stuck in heavy rain and low visibility and could not continue down, the department said. Conservation officers went to help, along with volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club and Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue.

Because it takes a long time for rescuers to reach that remote area, the hikers decided to try to descend once the rain eased, according to the department. Using the gear they had with them, they got down most of the steep, technical terrain before meeting an Appalachian Mountain Club hut caretaker at about 7:45 p.m. The caretaker had hiked over from the Hermit Lake Shelter and was the first rescuer to reach them, Fish and Game said.

None of the hikers was hurt. The caretaker guided them down the rest of the Huntington Ravine Trail and then returned to the shelter, while the hikers continued down the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, arriving at 10 p.m., the department said.

Fish and Game identified the hikers as Andres Perez Gonzalez, 22, of Croton Falls, New York; Esteban Gonzalez, 23, of Cranston, Rhode Island; Robert Zieba, 23, of Albany, New York; Harrold Vega Montenegro, 26, of Malden, Massachusetts; and Jefferson Pazcoy, 22, of Brewster, New York.

All five had good winter hiking and climbing gear, including ropes, crampons, microspikes, helmets and several warm layers, according to the department.

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