2019-050

Tramway Lost Hiker

September 07, 2019 San Jacinto Peak 2019-050

Written by Josh Gould

On Saturday around 7pm we got a call out for a missing hiker near the area of Miller Peak. Michael, Cameron, Blake and I responded to the Palm Springs tram. After talking with the deputy on duty, the four of us headed up the tram. Michael stay at the tram station and ran base, while Cameron, Blake and I headed out to Miller Peak.

We followed Long Valley Creek to the Tamarack Valley Campgrounds. From there we head up the trail to Miller Peak. Based off the serval coordinates we received, we placed him on the north face of the peak at around 9700 feet. Following the path, we found that the switchbacks were heavily overgrown and decided to take the direct path to the subject, branching off the path at what should have been at the first switch back. We headed up the hill and did a few shout outs. He responded below us.

We fanned out and headed down the side of the cliff. Blake spotted his head lamp and we all converged on the location. He was well prepared for his day hike and had the food and water needed for the trip and believed he even had some extra, so he gave away some food and water to some other hikers. After evaluating him to make sure everything was okay, we gave him some water and headed out. We found out that he got off trail because of believing the trail should have been on the other side of overgrown vegetation. He continued with this mindset and once he realized where he had ended up, he hunkered down and called for help.

This mission went smoothly, and the GPS coordinates we received from STAR-9 were spot on.

RMRU Members Involved: Cameron Dickinson, Blake Douglas, Michael George, and Josh Gould.