* Updated *
Two hikers stranded in the North Cascades mountains will likely have to wait until this evening on a small ledge, in cold wet conditions, before three mountain rescue workers reach them.
The hikers, Matthew Edwards, 33, and Robin Gibson, 27, both from Wisconsin, traveled to the area to hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Wednesday night the pair made a distress call, reporting that they were stranded on an 18-inch ledge in the area of Spire Point northeast of Darrington, according to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office.
A Navy helicopter from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station attempted to fly to the spot where the hikers were stranded on Wednesday evening, but poor weather and low visibility forced the helicopter to turn back, according to reports.
The Sheriff’s Office said a “fast team” of three rescue hikers began an approximately 10 mile-hike at about 11:30 a.m. to where Edwards and Gibson are believed to be stranded. They expect to arrive at about 7:30 p.m.
If the weather has not cleared enough for an air rescue, the rescue workers will stay overnight with the hikers.
Sheriff’s deputies last talked with Edwards and Gibson around 10:30 a.m., when the hikers said they were cold and wet, but stable.
“At this point, time is of the essence,” said, Will Reichardt, chief criminal deputy. “It’s really limited on what they can do to keep warm on this ledge.”
Edwards and Gibson lost their gear, and are only dressed in hiking clothes, which are now wet, Reichardt said. The temperature is right around freezing.
A command post has been set up at the Concrete airport, with emergency volunteers from Skagit, Whatcom and Pierce counties joining the effort along with the National Park Service. Helicopters from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and Fairchild Airforce base in Spokane are on call in case weather conditions improve.
The Sheriff’s Office indicated that the cold, damp weather is a concern because the hikers may suffer from hypothermia. “Time is critical due to the cold, rainy weather and the approximate 6,000 foot elevation,” the Sheriff’s Office press release said.
The emergency cell phone call came in to the Snohomish County dispatch center at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. The hikers reported that they were stranded on a ledge and were unable to proceed any farther. The call was transferred to the Skagit County Sheriff’s jurisdiction.
Skagit County Sheriff's deputies and search and rescue personnel contacted the stranded hikers via cell phone. They learned that the two hikers had been descending when they lost their gear in the area of Dana Glacier.
The stranded hikers’ families are currently in Massachusetts and deputies have been in contact with them, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
In an unrelated hiking incident, three teens who found themselves stranded by bad weather on a Snohomish County peak were rescued Wednesday night off Three Fingers Mountain.
Snohomish County Sheriff's Lt. Kathi Lang says that after one teen walked out Wednesday, the weather cleared sufficiently for a rescue helicopter to pluck the other two teens off the mountain in separate trips Wednesday evening. One of those two had hiked part-way down with rescuers. Lang says the third teen was suffering from back pain from a prior injury.
Lang said the three boys, were “about 17,” are from the Marysville-Arlington area.
They called for help by cell phone Tuesday night after they encountered fog, snow, rain and cold on the 6,800-foot mountain.
Stranded hikers wait for rescue team
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