Hikers Spend 36 Hours Stranded on California Mountain After Phones Die in Freezing Temperatures

Two hikers who planned a day trip on California’s Mount Shasta ended up spending 36 hours on the mountain before rescuers found them trapped between steep cliffs. Their phones had died hours earlier, and overnight temperatures had dropped as low as 14 degrees.

The 19-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, both from Salt Lake City, started hiking at 4 a.m. on Monday, October 12. According to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, they planned to spend the day on the Avalanche Gulch route while a friend attempted to reach the summit.

By 5 p.m., the pair had reached Red Banks, five hours past the recommended turnaround time for climbing Mount Shasta. Around 10:20 p.m., they called for help from an elevation of about 11,000 feet because they were freezing and couldn’t finish the descent.

Temperatures had fallen to between 14 and 16 degrees, and the hikers didn’t have enough clothing, food or water to safely spend the night outside. Sheriff’s dispatchers advised them to keep moving downhill to stay warm.

Hikers Lose Phone Contact After Reaching Helen Lake

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At approximately 2 a.m. Tuesday, the hikers called again to report that they had reached Helen Lake, about 10,400 feet above sea level. Their phones died shortly afterward, leaving rescuers without further updates on their location.

By 5 a.m., the pair had made it to Horse Camp but couldn’t see the trail. They headed northwest into Cascade Gulch, a steep, dry river canyon, and continued walking for about three miles.

They eventually reached an area where cliffs measuring 30 to 50 feet high blocked their way. With no way to continue down the canyon, they were stuck.

Search Crews Hear Shouting From the Canyon

Search-and-rescue volunteers and California Highway Patrol helicopter crews began looking for the hikers Tuesday morning. Around 9 a.m., a helicopter crew spotted two people waving from the mountain, but they weren’t the missing hikers.

A second search team, accompanied by a U.S. Forest Service climbing ranger, focused on Cascade Gulch below Horse Camp. Around 4 p.m., the searchers heard shouting and found the missing pair near the bottom of the canyon, about 1,000 feet from the McBride Springs Trail.

Both hikers were uninjured and managed to climb out with help from the rescue team. They had been on the mountain for approximately 36 hours.

Mount Shasta Rangers Warn Against Avalanche Gulch Route

The sheriff’s office said this was the third rescue involving the Avalanche Gulch route in the past month. A warning posted at the Bunny Flat Trailhead advises hikers against using the route this time of year because of deteriorating conditions, rockfall, and winter weather.

The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center’s October 15 climbing advisory also addressed the recent rescues. “Let’s give this route a break, please!” the rangers wrote.

The advisory said day hikes to Helen Lake were still an option but strongly discouraged going farther up Avalanche Gulch. Rangers also reminded climbers to carry extra supplies and consider what they would do if their phone died or they were forced to descend after dark.