Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Missing Hikers In Cleveland National Forest

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. (AP) - Rescuers working in sometimes dangerously rugged terrain combed Southern California's Cleveland National Forest for two lost hikers late Wednesday, but the third day of searching had proved fruitless as darkness fell.

There was no evidence of foul play and authorities believe the teens are in the area, in part because a 911 call made before their mobile phone died was traced to a cell tower near the location, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. John Muir.

Full story at the Herald-Whig.

Best hopes for a good outcome.

And a smartphone with no charge is a dumbphone. Or a brick.

One has been found, according to CBS.

"Rescuers discovered a "delirious” Nicholas Cendoya, 19, on Trabuco Creek Road around 9 p.m. after crews received a tip from a hiker that a man was at the bottom of a steep ravine off Holy Jim Falls.

An Orange County Fire Authority helicopter pilot, using night vision goggles, picked up Cendoya after making verbal contact with him. "

"The location of Cendoya's friend, 18-year-old Kyndall Jack, remains unclear.

A helicopter is actively searching for the young girl. Heavy brush and zero visibility forced crews to call off a ground search overnight."

Thankfully the second hiker has also been found - CBS

Having used to live in OC, I am very familiar with the Holy Jim Trail. You need a high clearance vehicle to drive to the trailhead.

Too often I have seen people who should have never stepped foot on this trail. They think it is an "easy" trek in the Cleveland National Forest.

Wrong.

Out in the CNF you can take the "wrong turn at Albuquerque" and you are asking for trouble if you are not prepared.

Depending on when they started their hike, when the sun sets, it gets so dark there you cannot see your hand in front of your face.

I imagine it was a hastily planned hike given it was Easter Sunday. It was "something-to-do-so-let's-do-it" kind of hike.

Glad to hear the outcome did not turn tragic. I pray for both hikers a speedy recovery and a lesson learned.

I am sure this qualifies as an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive."

I learned my lesson the hard way on May 1, 2004 on the Indian Truck Trail on "the other side." It was a very hot day and my friend and I were very lucky to be alive. It was a bad day for "summit fever" to get to Santiago Peak. And we all know that if we are at the summit, we are halfway there. Stifling heat, water rations and rattlesnakes. We would have been better off watching the Kentucky Derby.

I will leave it at that.

+@ti2d,

Actually, there are probably going to more of these type of rescues around Holy Jim. Last year several agencies got together and worked on the gravel/dirt road to the Holy Jim TH. It is now drive able in a passenger car.

The road was a big deterrent for the casual hiker trying to get to the TH. Although that didn't stop a few from trying and getting their car high-centered or stuck in a deep mud hole.

Glad to hear they are alive, but if we ever get the full story, it will probably consist of several small/medium level bad decisions made over the course of the day, and not just one monumental big knuckle-headed goof.

Agree wazzu. The last time I was on HJ Trail was November when we hiked Santiago Peak. I was shocked to see a line of cars waiting for a parking spot when we got off of the mountain that afternoon. The incoming traffic on Trabuco Creek Rd. was heavy.

Raw video from yesterday.

Note: this video starts automatically, with an ad first

That's a great video. Thanks for posting it.

Sure glad they found her and she'll be ok.

Remember that the S&R people face danger, too. In this case, a rescuer suffered a serious head injury.

He is expected to recover.

Interesting to note that Cendoya was only 500 feet from a busy road.

FresnoBee.com has some good pictures:

Article here   Search crews recount dramatic Calif. hiker rescue

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/05/3244377/search-crews-recount-dramatic.html#storylink=cpy

Glad this ended well. Odds here are a lot different at 2,000 ft elevation in southern Cal in April than 10,000+ ft in a High Sierra wilderness.

I thought maybe they would find them eloping in Argentina like a politician.

Thanks again to dedicated SAR heroes rising to yet another challenge. They can never get enough thanks.

Earlier video from ABC gives us a better view of the terrain.

Here's a good commentary on what we all know is obvious, but still needs to be pointed out. Article.

A Ranger is quoted from the article:

"Some people, they just want to get adventurous," said Silverman. "It's that sense of adventure, that 'Oh, I can do that,' that gets people into trouble.
"If you want adventure," he adds, "ride a roller coaster. Be outside to enjoy the beauty of nature."

I have been on this trail many times with my young children. I'm sorry, but the most difficult part of the trip was the drive on the washboard road. I'm still mystified how things went so badly.

Brent N

> I'm still mystified how things went so badly.

Perhaps they wanted to find a private spot and then got turned around and did not head back the way they came in?

I recall a situation where a fellow got seriously lost around Sentinel Dome in Yosemite. He had walked off the trail for a couple of minutes, and then went off in the wrong direction when he tried to retrace his steps. I think he spent a night before they found him. Some people can get seriously lost if they go off a trail just a short distance. Does this sound like a possibility there?

Without having seen all of the videos or news articles in this thread, here is my take on what went wrong...

1. My "guess" is that they did a late afternoon hike, went up the trail a ways, sat and watched the sunset and then decided to head back down. Water? Did they bring or did they bring enough...answer is probably no to both.

2. Without lights you can easily lose the trail because the brush is so thick.

3. Panic may have set in after losing "cellphone communication" and then trying to find that shortcut to get back to their vehicle.

4. During the daylight, they may have realized they were indeed lost complicated by the fact that they were not in an ideal location to get out or be spotted. Bad case of "foxtrot-kilo-tango."

5. When the sun is in the sky, it is unforgivingly hot. There is limited shade. The poor girl was so severely dehydrated she hallucinated thinking the falling dirt was water.


That one last phone call saved their lives.

I haven't been on that trail for a few years, so perhaps it has changed. I suppose around stream crossings, it might take a little orienting to pick up where to go and perhaps they took a game trail that led the wrong way. The other thing that is strange is that this is a pretty well traveled trail. I don't think I have ever been on it and not seen several other parties.

I don't doubt their story, I'm just mystified. I wonder if substance consumption or mental limitations might have played a part.

Yes, my thoughts, too...especially the substance consumption whether snorted, huffed, toked or drunk.

Yes, the trail is well-traveled, but when the sun sets and the "lights go out" up there then you got problems...that brush is so thick you focus more on the brush in front of you than focusing at your feet...you can walk just six feet off-trail up there at night and you got problems...especially if you cannot see the trail in pitch black darkness...and if you don't know how to navigate by the stars...it was a waning gibbous moon that night.

Several years ago, there was another incident where part of a large group of people of a hiking club had to be airlifted out of the same general area in Orange County. The group had split (no sweep) and that is when the fit hit the shan. The groups lost sight of each other. They had to make their way back using the light of their cellphones. They had to be airlifted. All made it out safely.

There are many times when I have stayed in a hotel room and stubbed my toe or bumped into something...yeah, I know it's there, but I didn't think I was that close. You would figure I would learn to turn the damn light on. My point: If you can lose your bearings in a hotel room and even your own house, then throw in some wilderness.

Apparently, it was a first date. Dude, way to go!

> Apparently, it was a first date. Dude, way to go!

...and probably their last!