WASHINGTON — A man and his mother backpacking in Kittitas County thought they were prepared with the 10 essentials, when a sudden blast of snow caught them off guard and left them stranded in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
The man, who didn’t want to be identified, said they are from North Carolina and checked the forecast.
However, the quickly changing weather in the Pacific Northwest mountains turned their backpacking trip into a life-or-death situation.
Thankfully, they were able to use a satellite signal on an iPhone and text 911.
First responders said:
“Do you know where you are?”
They replied:
“We got lost on Peggy’s Pond Trail, it is snowed in we didn’t expect snow and lost the path.”
The man rescued told KIRO 7 they were using a map to try and find the trail again, and it seemed like they were on the right track.
“We continued forward and found ourselves looking down to what appeared to be the trail a little down the mountain (less than 25 ft),” he wrote in an email.
He said he and his mom slowly climbed down the mountain, but soon realized what they saw wasn’t the trail. They tried to climb back up but ended up sliding further down the mountain because of the snow and treacherous terrain.
“We found ourselves on a small ridge and realized we were trapped,” he said.
That’s when he signaled SOS through satellite texting.
Volunteer rescue crews from Kittitas and King Counties hiked miles through the snow last Sunday to find them.
They were on such a steep part of the mountain they couldn’t pitch their tent and wrapped a tarp around themselves for shelter. The son said they also boiled water in their jetboil to try to stay warm. However, first responders said by the time they got there, the mom and son were hypothermic.
“We had rescue teams from multiple units who worked through sleet, snow, and a thunder and lightning storm to first use a rope system,” said Natalie Patterson with King County Explorer Search and Rescue.
“The subjects were in dire condition. The rescuers got to them, basically got them warmed up and got them moving in treacherous conditions,” said Brent Bishop with Seattle Mountain Rescue.
The son sys he is grateful for the rescue crews.
“A huge thank you to the many volunteers who are heroes in my eyes,” he said. “If I had been there alone, my ego would have kept me from calling for help and I most likely would have slid all the way down the mountain, breaking bones or even dying,” he said.
With another round of snow hitting the mountains this weekend, first responders are urging hikers to be prepared.
Fall is considered “shoulder season” and crews say the changing weather can be particularly dangerous for hikers.
“People often are still in that summer mentality or early fall mentality and can be taken off guard by the shorter days, variable weather, and early season winter conditions up in the higher elevations, which is what we’ve already started seeing with the rescue missions,” Patterson said.
“If someone is stuck somewhere in the summertime and they’re dry and warm, you have a lot of time to get to them and enact the rescue. In the wintertime, the shoulder seasons, if they’re wet and cold and it’s snowing raining, then hypothermia is the enemy and the clock is ticking,” Bishop said.
Crews are warning after this weekend, a lot more trails will be snow covered, icy, and slippery. They’re urging you to have the 10 essentials, with the most important being warmth, navigation tools, a way to stay dry, and a way to contact 911 - plus food, water, and a first aid kit.
Another thing to note -- all of these search and rescue crews are volunteers. They’re also warning with the government shutdown and many rangers in the Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks on furlough, any rescues in those areas will stretch their resources thin.
“The missions are the ones that never happen,” Bishop said.
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