Mount Shasta, CA – At approximately 10:20 pm on the evening of Monday, October 12th, 2026, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Dispatch Center received a call from two hikers – a 19 year-old male and 20 year-old female from Salt Lake City – who were freezing and unable to complete their descent of Mount Shasta.
At the time of the distress call, the hikers were in the Avalanche Gulch area at approximately 11,000ft, and had only planned for a day hike on the mountain while their friend summited. Temperatures on the mountain by this point in the night had plummeted to 14-16 degrees Fahrenheit, and the party did not have adequate clothing, food, or water to safely wait out the night from their position. The hikers were advised to keep descending in order to maintain their body heat, and by 2:00 am they called the SCSO to report that they had made it to Helen Lake (approximately 10,400ft). Shortly after this final call, the hikers’ phones died.
Search and Rescue resources were then called as well as CHP Air Operations to conduct a fist-light rescue of the duo Tuesday morning. At approximately 9:00 am, CHP Air Operations located two people waving down the helicopter that matched the description of the missing hikers, but later determined that they were neither the search subjects, nor in need of help.
Throughout the afternoon, ground searchers and aerial assets continued to comb the upper section of Avalanche Gulch as a second team of SAR volunteers and a USFS Climbing Ranger focused on the Cascade Gulch area below Horse Camp. At approximately 4:00 pm, the searchers heard shouting in Cascade Gulch and found the two missing hikers stranded at the bottom of the gulch, roughly 1,000 ft from the McBride Springs Trail. Fortunately, both hikers were uninjured, and were ultimately able to climb out of the gulch with assistance.
At the time of their rescue, the pair had been walking for approximately 36 hours. The party had left to climb Avalanche Gulch at 4:00 am Monday morning, and made it to Red Banks by 5:00 pm, 5 hours past the recommended turnaround time when climbing Mount Shasta. By 5:00 am Tuesday, the two hikers reached Horse Camp, but could not see the trail and traveled northwest into Cascade Gulch, a steep, dry river canyon. They persisted 3 miles down this drainage until they were ultimately stranded between two 30-50 foot cliffs.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Search and Rescue volunteers, Mount Shasta Climbing Rangers, and CHP Air Operations for their work to bring the missing hikers home. Though this rescue concluded with a positive outcome, theirs is the third such rescue on the Avalanche Gulch route within the past month. As posted at the Bunny Flat Trailhead, Avalanche Gulch is not a recommended route this time of year due to deteriorating conditions, rockfall, and the onset of winter weather. This ordeal is also an important reminder for anyone hiking, climbing, or hunting to prepare for worst case scenarios, such as an unintentional overnight stay, inclement weather, or an injury. With winter conditions returning, it is imperative to research your route ahead of time and only chose objectives that are safe for the season, as a simple mistake can turn deadly in the Siskiyou County high country.
