Two young hikers survived a grueling 36-hour ordeal on California’s Mount Shasta after losing the trail in dangerous terrain, becoming trapped between towering cliffs and exhausting their phone batteries as rescuers raced to locate them.
The 19-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, both from Salt Lake City, called for assistance at about 10:20 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, after cold and fatigue left them unable to safely descend the 14,179-foot mountain, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said.
The hikers had planned a single-day outing while a friend continued toward the summit. But when they made the emergency call from the Avalanche Gulch area at roughly 11,000 feet, temperatures had fallen to between 14 and 16 degrees. They also lacked enough clothing, food and water to remain overnight safely.
Deputies urged the pair to continue downhill to preserve body heat. By 2 a.m. Tuesday, the hikers said they had reached Helen Lake, at an elevation of about 10,400 feet. Their phones died soon afterward.
Search-and-rescue teams, along with California Highway Patrol Air Operations, began a major search Tuesday morning, sweeping the upper slopes of Mount Shasta for the missing hikers.
At approximately 9 a.m., a CHP helicopter crew spotted two people signaling for help. The individuals, however, were not the hikers authorities were seeking.
Aerial and ground crews continued the search into the afternoon. A second group of volunteers and a U.S. Forest Service climbing ranger concentrated on Cascade Gulch, below Horse Camp.
At about 4 p.m., rescuers heard cries from the gulch and located the stranded hikers near its lower end, roughly 1,000 feet from the McBride Springs Trail.
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The pair had reached Horse Camp around 5 a.m. Tuesday but could not find the trail in the darkness. They then followed a steep, dry river canyon for about three miles before becoming wedged between two cliffs rising 30 to 50 feet above them.
Neither hiker was injured, and both were able to climb out of the gulch with help from rescuers.
Their rescue came after approximately 36 hours on the mountain. The hikers had begun their journey at 4 a.m. Monday.
Authorities said the pair reached Red Banks along the Avalanche Gulch route at about 5 p.m. Monday—five hours beyond the recommended turnaround time for Mount Shasta climbers.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office credited search-and-rescue volunteers, Mount Shasta climbing rangers and CHP Air Operations with bringing the hikers safely off the mountain.
Officials also noted that the operation marked the third similar rescue on the Avalanche Gulch route in the past month.
Warnings posted at the Bunny Flat trailhead advise against using the route at this time of year because of deteriorating conditions, rockfall and the onset of winter weather.