Two young hikers visiting California from Utah spent approximately 36 hours walking through freezing conditions on Mount Shasta before rescuers found them stranded between cliffs in a steep gulch, authorities said.
The 19-year-old man and 20-year-old woman from Salt Lake City were located Tuesday afternoon in Cascade Gulch, roughly 1,000 feet from the McBride Springs Trail, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. Neither was injured.
The hikers had set out at 4 a.m. Monday for what they expected to be a day hike while a friend attempted to reach the summit. They reached the Red Banks area at approximately 5 p.m., five hours after the recommended turnaround time for climbing Mount Shasta.
Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office
At approximately 10:20 p.m., the pair called authorities from the Avalanche Gulch area at an elevation of about 11,000 feet. Temperatures had fallen to between 14 and 16 degrees, and the hikers did not have enough clothing, food or water to remain there safely overnight.
Dispatchers advised them to continue descending to preserve their body heat. The hikers reported reaching Helen Lake, at approximately 10,400 feet, by 2 a.m. Tuesday. Their phones died shortly afterward.
Search-and-rescue volunteers, Mount Shasta climbing rangers and California Highway Patrol air crews began searching at first light.
Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office
A helicopter crew spotted two people waving at approximately 9 a.m., but they were not the missing hikers and did not require assistance.
The lost hikers reached Horse Camp at approximately 5 a.m. but could not see the trail, according to the sheriff’s office. They instead traveled northwest into Cascade Gulch and continued approximately 3 miles through the steep, dry river canyon before becoming trapped between cliffs measuring 30 to 50 feet high.
Searchers heard shouting at approximately 4 p.m. and found the pair at the bottom of the gulch. Both hikers were able to climb out with assistance.
Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff’s office said this was the third rescue along the Avalanche Gulch route within a month. Signs at the Bunny Flat Trailhead warn that the route is not recommended at this time of year because of deteriorating conditions, falling rocks and the arrival of winter weather.
“This ordeal is also an important reminder for anyone hiking, climbing, or hunting to prepare for worst case scenarios, such as an unintentional overnight stay, inclement weather, or an injury,” the sheriff’s office said. “A simple mistake can turn deadly in the Siskiyou County high country.”
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