Two young hikers spent 36 hours battling freezing conditions on California’s Mount Shasta after losing the trail in dangerous terrain, becoming wedged between steep cliffs and eventually losing the use of their phones as rescuers mounted a desperate search.
The 19-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, both from Salt Lake City, called for help at about 10:20 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said. They had become too cold and fatigued to safely descend the 14,179-foot mountain.
The pair had intended to make a one-day hike while a friend continued toward the summit. But when they reached the Avalanche Gulch area at roughly 11,000 feet, temperatures had fallen to between 14 and 16 degrees. They also did not have enough warm clothing, food or water to remain overnight safely.
Deputies told the hikers to continue moving downhill to preserve body heat. By about 2 a.m. Tuesday, they had made it to Helen Lake, approximately 10,400 feet above sea level. Their phones died soon afterward.
Search-and-rescue teams, along with California Highway Patrol Air Operations, began scouring the upper mountain Tuesday morning in an urgent effort to locate the missing hikers.
At approximately 9 a.m., a CHP helicopter spotted two people signaling for assistance. However, the individuals were not the hikers authorities were trying to find.
Aerial and ground teams continued the search into the afternoon. A second group of rescuers, joined by a U.S. Forest Service climbing ranger, concentrated on Cascade Gulch below Horse Camp.
Around 4 p.m., rescuers heard voices echoing from the gulch and located the hikers near its lower end, roughly 1,000 feet from the McBride Springs Trail.
After reaching Horse Camp at about 5 a.m. Tuesday, the hikers could no longer identify the trail and entered a steep, dry river canyon. They traveled approximately three miles down the drainage before becoming trapped between cliffs rising 30 to 50 feet on either side.
Neither hiker was injured, and both were able to climb out of the gulch with help from rescuers.
The rescue came after the two had spent about 36 hours traveling through the mountain after beginning their outing at 4 a.m. Monday.
Authorities said the pair reached Red Banks on the Avalanche Gulch route at around 5 p.m. Monday, approximately five hours beyond the recommended turnaround time for Mount Shasta climbers.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office credited the search-and-rescue volunteers, Mount Shasta climbing rangers and CHP Air Operations teams involved in bringing the hikers back to safety.
Officials also noted that the operation marked the third rescue on the Avalanche Gulch route in just one month.
The route is currently discouraged because seasonal conditions are worsening, rockfall risks are increasing and winter weather is returning, according to warnings posted at the Bunny Flat trailhead.
