Third Shasta Rescue This Month – Why?

Hikers' feet walking on a forest trail — Photo: Diego Cervo / Shutterstock

Two young hikers survived 36 hours in 14–16-degree cold on Mount Shasta before rescuers heard their shouts and led them out uninjured.

Story Highlights

Two Salt Lake City hikers were found after roughly 36 hours and walked out with help.
They called for help late at night near 11,000 feet as temperatures plunged below freezing.
Search teams located them after hearing shouting in Cascade Gulch, about 1,000 feet off trail.
Officials say this was at least the third Mount Shasta rescue this month.

Rescue Teams Find Pair After Day Hike Becomes Overnight Ordeal

Deputies in Siskiyou County said a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman from Salt Lake City set out for a day hike on Mount Shasta. They called the sheriff’s office around 10:20 p.m. Saturday while descending near Avalanche Gulch at about 11,000 feet. Temperatures dropped to the mid-teens. The pair did not have enough food, water, or warm gear, and their phones later died in the cold, according to reports summarized from officials.

Searchers worked into Tuesday. Around 4 p.m., teams heard voices echoing from Cascade Gulch and found the hikers at the bottom of steep terrain. Rescuers guided them to climb out toward the McBride Springs Trail, about 1,000 feet away. Both were tired and cold but uninjured, and they reached safety with help from the ground crews. The sheriff’s office and multiple outlets reported the same outcome: no injuries after a long, freezing night and day.

Cold, Dead Phones, And Route Confusion Turn Minutes Into Hours

Officials described a classic mountain hazard chain. A late descent, falling temperatures, light supplies, and failing phones stacked risk fast. The hikers started early and planned only a day outside, while a friend went for the summit. But the route down grew confusing in the dark and the cold. The pair ended up in Cascade Gulch, off the main path. That error, plus the weather, pushed a simple plan into a 36-hour survival test before they were found.

Rescuers credited persistence and sound field tactics, not luck. Teams canvassed likely drainages and listened for human sound. Hearing shouts in steep country gave them a fix they could act on. They moved to the bottom of the gulch, made contact, and then helped the pair climb out to a known trail. Officials later confirmed the hikers walked out under their own power, with support, after being missing for roughly a day and a half.

What This Incident Says About Preparedness And Prevention

Mount Shasta is not a casual hill. Weather shifts fast. Trails fade into rock and snow. A safe day hike can change in minutes when darkness and cold arrive. Authorities say this rescue was at least the third in the area this month, which shows a pattern more than a fluke. Personal readiness still matters most: extra layers, headlamps, paper maps, and a turnaround time can keep a small problem from becoming a crisis after dark.

Two hikers who were stranded and freezing for 36 hours on Mount Shasta in northern California were rescued by search teams Tuesday afternoon in what is the third rescue this month from the area, authorities said. https://t.co/jcmhLGAPQj

— ABC News (@ABC) October 15, 2026

For families, faith groups, and outdoor clubs, the lesson is simple and conservative at heart: take responsibility before you step out. Do not outsource safety to a phone battery or a map app. Tell someone your plan. Carry basics that work with no signal. Respect posted guidance and local advice. When citizens prepare well, search teams spend less time and tax dollars chasing avoidable danger, and more time ready for true emergencies where seconds count.