The volunteers threw on heavy packs and walked several miles in Saranac Lake to show they are capable of carrying a heavy load for a long time as they assist forest rangers and other law enforcement agencies with search and rescue missions.

As the orange and camo-clad group gathered in Riverside Park to don vests full of sandbags before their half-mile walk to the corner of Lake Flower Avenue and back two or three times, a state Department of Environmental Conservation forest ranger truck drove past and the driver, a ranger, gave them a honk.

SARNAK Coordinator Jeff Berry said this test is a prerequisite to be eligible to be part of the volunteer group. They want people to be prepared to carry a heavy load for a long time — their own supplies for hiking in any conditions, equipment to assist a carry-out and injured hikers’ supplies.

On Thursday, some carried 45-pound packs 3 miles in 45 minutes. Others did a 25-pound pack carry 2 miles in 30 minutes.

“You here to suffer?” Berry asked people as they arrived at the bandshell.

Participants were not allowed to run.

“It’s intended to be awkward and inefficient. That’s the point,” SARNAK Training Officer Elena Lumby said.

They were walking on flat ground, but when they’re out on a rescue in the backcountry, there is lots of climbing. This test is held twice a year.

“It’s become more of a tradition,” Berry said.

It’s a requirement for membership, which not all SAR groups require, but its also something the group’s members look forward to. Some treated it as a competition. Others were social and chatting as they hefted their packs down the sidewalk.

Lumby said everyone who participated passed Thursday’s test. SARNAK has around 30 total members right now.

Berry said the coronavirus pandemic was rough on volunteer groups, including SARNAK. He said he’s been “aggressively” rebuilding the team for the past two years he’s been coordinator.

Berry said they’re always looking for “crazy people” who love the outdoors and love helping people. Thursday’s certification included several first-timers who joined recently.

Ryan Sampson, 26, who shouldered a large rock climbing bag, said he wants to become a ranger eventually. To do so, he’ll need experience — something like SARNAK. He plans to study at North Country Community College. Sampson is currently a prospective SARNAK member. Lumby said he needs to attend one more training session to be voted in.

“Active members of SARNAK are required to attend six trainings each year,” according to the SARNAK website. “Prospective members are required to attend three consecutive training sessions to be considered for membership.”

Mary Humphreys, who goes by the nickname “Bear,” was another first-timer. She lives in Rochester but is close to finishing hiking the 46 High Peaks and wants to be able to give back after she finishes.

She said she’s seen the dangers of hiking and knows people who have been injured on the trail. She used to hike alone, but does not anymore.

Humphreys didn’t actually get her “Bear” name from her time in the High Peaks. It came from her older brother when she was 4. With a 10 year age gap between them, she was “wild and annoying” to him, like a bear.

Humphreys runs triathlons, including Ironman. But a pack test and a SAR mission are different types of physical challenges.

“It’s hard,” she said.

She had been training for this test like a triathlon, she said. SARNAK holds monthly training exercises. The next, on Nov. 1, is for new and prospective crew boss practice.

Berry said a group of new DEC forest rangers just graduated from the academy, so SARNAK has not had a lot of carry-out calls this season.

SARNAK is based in Saranac Lake and has a focus on the Adirondacks but participates in SAR all over northern New York.

Before the walk, there was a lot of talk on the recent search for Charlotte Sena, 9, who disappeared from Moreau Lake State Park the week before. SARNAK crew bosses had participated in the massive search in the area around the park. Sena was found alive and the alleged kidnapper has been arrested.