On Track in Cucamonga Canyon

The callout for a search for a missing hiker in the Mt. Baldy area came in around 1900, just as we were beginning classroom training on Map & Compass. Everyone packed up and left the station, most to head home for their equipment and return for the rigs. All three vehicles departed the station around 2000 with 5 members. Other members were in route from Station 12, and several were responding POV. Staging was established at Baldy Fire.

More details were provided as we checked in at the station. Three young men had hiked Cucamonga Peak together, but after splitting up on descent only two had returned. The lost hiker had last been seen descending the switchbacks above the Cucamonga saddle. We had a name, description, clothing etc., plus something a little unusual - a printout from the internet of the subject's shoes, including the sole. The pattern was distinctive, and would prove to be the most important piece of info made available for the search.

From Cucamonga search 2008

Three two-man teams were originally dispatched and sent by helicopter to Cucamonga Peak. The first two teams, arriving within 10 minutes of each other, joined up and began descending toward the saddle and then Ice House. Team 1 would cover Ice House Canyon, while Team 2 was assigned the trail north to Middle Fork. Team 3 headed down the east side of Cucamonga toward Joe Elliot.

Within 20 minutes of departing the summit the lead tracker for the combined Team 1 - 2 had identified a footprint nearly identical to the picture provided of the subject's shoe.

The combined team proceeded down trail, regularly confirming track and searching up and down slope with headlamp and flashlight. Attempts to contact the missing subject by voice and whistle were made almost continuously with no success. Track was maintained, with the distinctive print appearing regularly, all the way down the switchbacks for roughly the next hour until it was lost just short of the saddle above Cucamonga Canyon. Backtracking, the last identifiable sign was confirmed about 50 yards up trail from the saddle. A pair of footprints could clearly be identified; perpendicular to the trail and facing down the canyon, as though the subject had stood there thinking about a detour. The teams returned to the saddle and contacted the command post with the information and a conclusion - the subject might have left the trail and headed down the canyon. This assumption was supported by the lack of prints, which had been fairly regular on the trail, at the saddle and on the trail to Ice House.

CP confirmed with instructions - Team 1 would continue on the trail searching for sign and the subject, while Team 2 would proceed off trail down Cucamonga Canyon. Team 3 would abandon their original assignment, having found no sign of the subject, and proceed in the same direction as Team 1. Teams 1 and 3 would eventually reach the IH Canyon trailhead after a thorough search of IH Canyon and Chapman Trail.

Team 2 began their assignment in Cucamonga Canyon around midnight, entering the canyon from the location of the last set of identified prints and negotiating their way down a moderately steep slope. Concentrating on likely track traps, Team 2 located a descent print within 45 minutes. Finding the print, a surprising stroke of luck in the dark in the wide canyon, seemed to confirm that the subject had indeed left the trail in daylight and gone down canyon, perhaps thinking he was cutting the switchbacks to catch up with his companions. Confirming the find with the CP, Team 2 set out looking for more prints or sign as they proceeded down canyon. They would find nothing for 6 hours.

Picking their way down the canyon, Team 2 saw evidence of recent travel in the canyon but no prints and nothing that could definitively be attributed to the subject. The wide rocky canyon narrowed, and a stream eventually appeared. Travel was slow, steep in many areas with poor footing. The biggest concern was the possibility, assuming the subject had indeed continued down the canyon, that Team 2 would simply miss a sleeping or unconscious subject in the dark canyon. Attempts to locate the subject by voice and whistle were made continuously as the team proceeded. The team made hourly contact with CP, reporting position by UTM but no success in locating any sign of the subject. Around 0530, after covering a little over a mile, the team called a stop to rest and await daylight. A brief nap on the rocks and the team continued at dawn, lamps no longer necessary. Amazingly, within 20 minutes Team 2 had located another set of prints, very distinct in damp sand near the stream on the canyon floor. This encouraging sign seemed to indicate that the subject was down there, still ahead of Team 2 and proceeding toward the falls about 2 miles below the saddle. It was agreed with CP that Team 2 would proceed to the falls, which would, it was assumed, prevent the subject from proceeding any further.

At this point the canyon had leveled but was becoming more difficult to negotiate. The stream was larger, and the canyon floor was overgrown with brush following recent fires. Fallen trees created foot hazards and made for slow travel, and repeated stream crossings were necessary. With daylight, 40 King was soon operating and, after briefing at Cow Canyon Saddle was searching the canyon above the falls and ahead of the still advancing Team 2. Communicating on the same frequency as CP and Team 2, 40 king announced around 0830 that they had located a subject just 1/4 mile down canyon from Team 2. Within 30 minutes Team 2 had made contact and confirmed the subject's identity. He was uninjured and in good spirits, having ended his trek down the canyon the prior evening and camping not far from where he was located that morning. Wet from the stream he had attempted a fire, with little success, and then managed some sleep through the night.

Fortunately for both the subject and Team 2, 40 King reported a possible LZ just 100 feet up the slope from the subject. After refueling, the helicopter returned to extract first the subject and then Team 2 from a ridge above the falls back to Cow Canyon. Transport down the hill to CP at Baldy Fire, and the rescue was concluded. The subject was taken by friends to join his parents, and Team 2 headed home for some sleep!

Postscript

Lessons Learned - tracking works! A distinctive print helps, but tracking the subject down the heavily traveled trail from Cucamonga Peak was quite a feat. And actually finding prints in the dark canyon was nothing short of amazing! Identifying the track allowed the search to be concentrated and the subject found quickly.

For hikers - STAY TOGETHER for goodness sake! And under no circumstances leave a perfectly good trail, especially for a place like Cucamonga Canyon, no matter how promising it might look at the time. And finally, please, when you realize you may be lost - STOP WALKING! We will never catch you if you keep going, unless something stops you. And most of the things that might force you to stop are not good. We'd much rather find you sitting patiently on a rock than at the bottom of a cliff. And if you aren't walking you might just hear us calling your name. The longer you keep moving, the longer you stay lost!