Hiker stuck in Hut, San Jacinto Peak
December 31, 2025
San Jacinto Mountains, CA
2025-043
Written by: Eric Holden
We received a callout at 7am on New Years Eve that a PCT hiker had taken shelter in the hut on the top of Mt. San Jacinto. The weather was bad out with it snowing/sleeting at the hut and rain at lower elevations. He did not have micro spikes or the proper clothing to hike out on his own and called for a rescue. I called the subject on the phone and let him know that due to the weather a helicopter would not be an option and that we were sending in a ground team, but it would be several hours before we reached him. I let him know to hunker down in the hut, and we would see him in about 5 hours.
The only RMRU members that could respond to the tram were Geoff and myself. Due to the wide network of the Riverside Sheriff’s radio coverage, we were able to have David Bever run communications for us back at his house in Temecula. When Geoff and I got to the upper tramway we spoke with the State Park Rangers who let us know local mountain man Jon King had found our subject sheltering in the hut. He had a pair of spikes for him and clothing and was going to hike him down. I spoke with Jon on the phone and we decided to meet them at Wellman’s Divide.
Geoff and I started our hike to Wellman’s. We had non-stop fog and lots of rain, weather was just above freezing. The trail had completely frozen over and was more like a trail of ice, and it was safer to step off the trail into the snow than up the bobsled course that the main trail had become. After about 90 minutes of hiking, we had made it just past round valley and were making our way up to Wellman’s when we ran into Jon and our subject coming down the trail. As the rain was coming down hard, we quickly got the subject out of Jon’s equipment and into ours, thanked Jon immensely for the assistance, and started our hike back to the tram while Jon went back up to Wellman’s to start his hike back to Idyllwild.
We made it back to the tram and rewarmed before heading back down to the valley floor. It was a great mission made much easier with the help of Jon King. For those that do not know, Jon runs the San Jacinto Trail Report and gives the most up to date information on the San Jacinto Mountains. I highly recommend checking out his website.
https://sanjacjon.com/
Luckily, our subject made the correct choice and realized when he got over his head just to hunker down and get some assistance. If he had tried hiking out and slipped or gotten hypothermic, this relatively easy rescue could have turned into a much bigger ordeal. Remember to check the weather before heading into the mountains and always come prepared with the 10 essentials and all the gear needed for the conditions.
RMRU Members Involved: (David Bever, Eric Holden, and Geoff Marshall)