Brief
Two Young Hikers Rescued After 36 Hours Lost on Mount Shasta
The 19‑year‑old man and 20‑year‑old woman were found near the McBride Springs Trail after a multi‑agency search.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Two hikers from Salt Lake City were rescued on California’s Mount Shasta after spending roughly 36 hours lost in the mountain’s upper reaches, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said.
The pair set out for a day hike at 4 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, but became disoriented on the Avalanche Gulch route. By 10:20 p.m. they called for help from an area called Avalanche Gulch at about 11,000 feet, reporting that they were cold, exhausted and low on supplies. Deputies instructed them to keep descending to retain body heat.
At around 2 a.m. Tuesday the hikers reached Helen Lake, roughly 10,400 feet high, but their phones died shortly thereafter. Search‑and‑rescue crews, including California Highway Patrol Air Operations, began a coordinated search the following morning. A CHP helicopter spotted two people waving at 9 a.m., but they were not the missing hikers.
Ground teams and volunteer rescuers continued searching throughout the day, focusing on Cascade Gulch below Horse Camp and later on the drainage known as Cascade Gulch. At about 4 p.m., rescuers heard shouting from the gulch and located the hikers near the bottom, about 1,000 feet from the McBride Springs Trail. The hikers had descended into a steep, dry river canyon after reaching Horse Camp around 5 a.m. and had traveled roughly three miles down before becoming trapped between cliffs 30 to 50 feet high.
Both hikers were uninjured and were helped out of the gulch by rescuers. By the time they were rescued, they had been on the move for approximately 36 hours since their departure. The incident underscores the challenges of high‑altitude hiking in rapidly changing weather conditions.
Key facts
- The hikers called for help at 10:20 p.m. on Oct. 12 from Avalanche Gulch at about 11,000 feet. (nypost.com)
- Rescuers located the hikers near the McBride Springs Trail at around 4 p.m. on Oct. 13. (nypost.com)
- Both hikers were uninjured after a 36‑hour ordeal. (nypost.com)
- The search involved the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, CHP Air Operations, volunteer teams and a US Forest Service ranger. (nypost.com)
- Temperatures at the time of the call were between 14 °F and 16 °F. (nypost.com)
Sources
- [1] nypost.com — originally reported as “Bone-chilling ordeal for freezing hikers stranded for 36-hours on notorious California mountain”
