MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. — Two Salt Lake City hikers were rescued from a popular California wilderness area, ending a 36-hour ordeal in which the man and woman battled freezing temperatures and unfamiliar terrain.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said the 20-year-old woman and 18-year-old man originally set out at 4 a.m. Monday for a day hike on Mount Shasta, while their friend attempted to summit.
Hiking community rallies around hiker injured in Mt. Timpanogos fall:
Late Monday night, the hikers called the dispatch center, saying they were freezing and unable to finish their descent. The man and woman reported not having food, water, or adequate clothing for the low temperatures at Avalanche Gulch.
After officials advised the pair to keep descending to maintain body heat, the hikers called the sheriff's office at 2 a.m., saying they had arrived at another location before their phone died.
Search crews and aerial resources were dispatched Tuesday morning to find the duo, who were later found at 4 p.m. after teams heard shouting in the Cascade Gulch area. Searchers later found the man and woman at the bottom of the gulch, approximately 1,000 feet below the trail.
According to the sheriff's office, by the time of their rescue, the hikers had been walking for about 36 hours.