Joanne Payne, counselor of Nashua Boy Scout Troop 232, is carried down Mt. Chocorua on the afternoon of April 18 after fracturing her ankle. Courtesy photo/Lakes Region Search and Rescue

ALBANY – The six members of Nashua Boy Scout Troop 232 rushed into action when their counselor, 51-year-old Joanne Payne, fractured her left ankle on Mt. Chocorua shortly before 2 p.m. on April 18.

A Wolfeboro resident, Payne had been hiking along Champney Falls Trail when she lost her footing. At the time, the group was three miles from the trailhead on the Kancamagus Highway.

Conservation officers and members of Lakes Region Search and Rescue arrived on the scene at 4:27 p.m. and carried Payne down the mountain in a litter.

According to state Fish and Game officials, by the time rescuers arrived, the Boy Scouts had reduced the swelling using ice and were able to put Payne’s ankle in a splint.

The group arrived back at the trailhead at 8:05 p.m. Payne was taken to Memorial Hospital in North Conway for further treatment.

According to the Chocorua Lake Conservancy, the Champney Falls Trail, although moderate in grade, is notorious for having slippery ledges that put hikers at risk of serious injury.

Standing at 3,490 feet, Mt. Chocorua is located on the eastern end of the Sandwich Range in the White Mountain National Forest.