Three hikers, a dog and a park ranger spent a cold night in the San Jacinto Mountains on Saturday after one of the hikers, ill-prepared for the snowy conditions, got trapped on a notoriously dangerous trail and the others came to his aid.
Friends Tony Ramos, Alex Escalona and Nemorio Hernandez set out Saturday morning on the Skyline Trail, an 8-mile route from the Palm Springs Art Museum to the top station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, gaining 7,500 feet in elevation.
In a Facebook post Monday, Mount San Jacinto State Park officials warned that with 3 to 4 feet of ice and snow on the eastern side of the mountain, they don’t recommend attempting the hike.
Ramos, an avid 45-year-old hiker from Covina who has made the trek three times before, said in an interview Monday that his group was well equipped, with waterproof boots, crampons, ice axes and helmets.
They set out at 8 a.m. and planned to take the tram back down Sunday evening.
About 4:30 p.m., at the 7,500-foot level, they encountered a man wearing a T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes, with a dog whose paws were bloodied.
The man, shivering in an area with more than a foot of snow, told the three hikers that he had hiked the area around the same time last year and didn’t anticipate such snowy conditions.
Escalona taped the dog’s paws to prevent further damage and bleeding.
The three men typically carry extra gear with them on trails and gave a spare jacket, a pair of waterproof pants and a few other items to the stranded man. He told them he had already called for help, but Ramos activated a GPS device he was carrying to ensure they came to the right location.
The group estimated they had an hour left of daylight, Ramos said, so they kept hiking in the hopes of making it to the tram.
They came to a gully that Hernandez began to scale. From there, he’d be able to make it to the Long Valley Trail that leads back to the tram. But Ramos didn’t feel comfortable scaling, so he and Escalona began to hike back down, figuring they could also check whether the stranded hiker had been rescued.
The two men ran into a ranger on his way to the other hiker, and together the three reached him.
By that point, the stranded hiker was “lying in the snow shivering uncontrollably,” according to park officials’ Facebook post. He was treated for cold-related injuries, but high winds prevented a Riverside County sheriff’s helicopter from hoisting him out.
By about 8:30 p.m. Escalona and Ramos were ready to go back down the mountain, but the ranger recommended – strongly – that they stay for safety’s sake, Ramos said.
The men created a makeshift shelter using branches and a tarp. Escalona and Ramos used their spare jackets to bundle up and the group huddled together for body heat, Ramos said.
Late that night, the helicopter returned and dropped off two bags that contained supplies including water and winter gear to help the group survive the freezing overnight temperatures.
About 5 a.m., Ramos awoke to beautiful scenery and began to pack up.
Daylight and calmer winds allowed the helicopter to hoist out the three hikers, the dog and rescue personnel to safety.
Escalona and Ramos both had plans for Sunday. Ramos was supposed to run in a marathon and Escalona had another hike planned, but Ramos said saving the fellow hiker kept them from their plans.
“I felt the guy would’ve been in trouble if we hadn’t given him the extra clothing and stuff,” Ramos said.
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