LINCOLNVILLE — Two Castine women out for a Saturday hike in the woods of Tanglewood in Lincolnville started down the wrong trail, and as darkness fell and the temperature dropped, they realized they were lost. Although cellular phone reception was poor, they were able to contact Knox County Regional Communications Center for help, and by 10 p.m., firefighters, one state trooper and two Maine game wardens found them just off an old trail that runs alongside the Ducktrap River.

The women were well outfitted for the elements, said Lincolnville Fire Chief Jason Peasley, with winter coats, hats and gloves. Their feet, however, were "extremely cold and wet," he said.

The hikers had started out at 4 p.m. from the upper parking lot of Tanglewood Forest, which is part of Camden Hills State Park although geographically separated from the bulk of the park property. The forest is home to the University of Maine's 4-H Camp and Learning Centers. The seven miles of hiking trails in Tanglewood are open to the public, and used year-round.

Peasley and the Lincolnville Fire Department received a call from Maine State Game Warden Michelle Merrifield, of Union, at 8:10 p.m. Protocol has it that when people are lost, the lead response agency is Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which dispatches wardens to organize searches. In this case, Merrifield and Warden Aaron Cross called the fire department. Peasley, in turn, collected volunteers — Brendan Allen, Hank Lang, A.J. Weed, Jake Cookson, Justin Hills, Matt Ballou, Logan Leach and Pete Rollins — who gathered first at Tanglewood. Maine State Trooper Glen Lang (brother of Hank) also assisted.

The first responders had spotty communication with the women via cellphone. They were instructed to stop walking and stay put, while the wardens and firefighters began to hunt for them.

The firefighters stationed a truck at either end of the property, one at the inland end of Whitney Road, which leads into Tanglewood from the Lincolnville Beach end of the town, close to the ocean; the other truck at the Tanglewood camp parking lot where the lodge and cabins are located. Then, they began to blare their sirens.

"We knew if they could hear the sirens, it would be good," said Peasley.

The women heard the siren of the truck parked at the woods-end of Whitney Road.

The firefighters, who were communicating with each other via radio, then began hiking in teams down trails that ran toward the ocean. The women had been hiking along an old trail that ran beside the Ducktrap River. They had apparently missed their turn, and the trails were not well marked, said Peasley.

This particular trail is old and in spots, barely perceptable as being a path, he said.

When the women were found, they were 15 to 20 feet off the trail and into the woods, he said; however, they were always within earshot of the river.

Firefighters found them at approximately 10 p.m., and then accompanied them out to Whitney Road. There, they were transported back to the camp's parking lot by Lincolnville Police Chief Ron Young and interviewed by the game wardens.

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Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 706-6657.