Two Lost Hikers Tracked Down And Rescued

On the afternoon of March 4th, park dispatch received a report that two hikers, both men in their 60s, were an hour and a half overdue from a 15-mile day hike in the Tremont area. They were reported to be experienced day hikers who were in the process of hiking all 900 miles of trails within the park. Shortly thereafter, dispatch received a call from one of the men, who reported that they’d mistakenly gotten off the Panther Creek trail while trying to navigate around a large downed tree. They’d walked for about three hours in dense rhododendron, but had been unable to relocate the trail. They were unable to start a fire due to snow on the ground and wet conditions, and one of the men was reportedly cold and shivering. Wildlife technician Rick Varner and ranger Steve Spanyer interviewed the men via cell phone and determined that they were most likely off-trail on a finger of Timber Ridge between Lost Branch and Panther Creek. Since one of the hikers was evidently in the first stages of hypothermia and since temperatures in the twenties were forecast for that night, IC Helen McNutt decided to begin an off-trail search after dark. Ranger Todd Roessner and wildlife technician Dan Nolfi hiked in to the Panther Creek trail and found tracks going off the trail. The tracks showed that the hikers had missed a switchback, gone directly into the woods, encountered the downed tree, then became lost after going around it. Nolfi and Roessner tracked the men through thick rhododendron and steep terrain until they made voice contact with them. Due to the dense vegetation, it took Roessner and Nolfi nearly two more hours to reach the two men. They led them back to the trail, where the foursome forded a stream, then hiked another two plus miles back to the trailhead. Both men were able to walk back to the trailhead, but one was taken to a nearby hospital, as he was displaying signs of dehydration and exhaustion. Although both men were experienced day hikers, they had no experience hiking off-trail and limited experience with backpacking and winter conditions.