Hiker sends SOS, spends hours after dark stranded in deep snow, California cops say
.png "The hiker awaited rescue for hours along the Pacific Crest Trail, deputies say.")
A 20-year-old stranded in deep snow on a popular hiking trail was rescued after sending an SOS for help, California deputies say.
The hiker sent an emergency message using a Garmin device that reached a company representative, who called the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, deputies said in a Nov. 25 Facebook post.
The hiker’s message said he was traveling the Pacific Crest Trail when he couldn’t go any further “due to deep snow,” deputies said.
The message showed he was “in the Big Bend area of eastern Shasta County,” deputies said.
Using Jeeps and snowmobiles, deputies said search and rescue volunteers made their way to the hiker, who was stranded “south of Grizzly Peak and east of Lake McCloud.”
Rescuers finally found the hiker, who was not hurt, just before 3:30 a.m the next day and brought him to Redding, deputies said.
Deputies went on to stress that hikers should make plans with weather conditions in mind and “carry necessary equipment in the event of an emergency.”
“This hiker’s GPS device likely prevented an adverse outcome,” deputies said.
Pacific Crest Trail is “a continuous path along the spectacularly scenic crest of the Pacific Mountain ranges between Mexico and Canada,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Hiker sends SOS, spends hours after dark stranded in deep snow, California cops say."
