There is a simple piece of advice that the Colorado rescue team has for lost hikers or anyone else who find themselves stranded in the mountains — answer your phone.
Last week, Lake County Search and Rescue received a report that a hiker had not returned from Mount Elbert. In a post on its Facebook page, LCSAR said the hiker set out at 9 am on October 18 and didn’t return until 8 pm.
Rescuers attempted to reach the person via his or her cell phone several times, but were unsuccessful.
A five-member LCSAR team searched areas where hikers are known to get lost, but called off the search at 3 am. Another search team of three checked another area at 7 am. They received a call around 9:30 am stating that the hiker, who was not identified, had returned to the campsite.
According to the post, the hiker had no idea that rescuers were searching for them. ‘One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn’t recognize the number,’ LCSAR wrote. ‘If you’re overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone; it may be a SAR team trying to confirm you’re safe!’
Read also: 7-day-old baby kidnapped from Gujarat, sold to Bihar army man at Rs 4 lakh
The highest peak in Colorado is Mount Elbert, located about 125 miles southwest of Denver. Its elevation is 14,433 feet. It is a popular place for hikers and is said to be an easy climb.
The LCSAR reports that this hiker lost his trail around nightfall and spent all night searching for it. Upon returning to the trail, the hiker had to check several trailheads before finding the one where they’d parked their vehicle.There is a warning that snow can obscure the trail above the treeline, and that hikers can’t follow their tracks back down the mountain since the wind can blow them away.
Post Your Comments