On Sunday, March 7 a hiker got seperated from his partner about noon on the summit of Mt. Baldy in 10 ft visibility and high winds. He had never been there before, so he was completely unaware of the terrain and area. He tried several times with his map & compass to make his way down, but would get to a point and not recognize the area and would go back up to the top.
At 1600 hrs he dug a snow cave for the night. He heard 40-King but it was clouded in and could not see them. 40-King at first could not search the area between 8,000 and 10,500 ft due to clouds, so we were gearing up for a long search with 10 assignments that needed about 30 to 40 searchers. 40-King tried one more time before the end of their shift, after the summmit briefly cleared of clouds, and saw our subject with his headlamp waving. They picked him up and brought him down to Cow Canyon Saddle at about 2230 hrs, ending the mission on a happy note.
Our subject was very smart and stayed put, instead of heading down into any direction off the mountain, since he had no idea where he was. We have had several lost hikers in the past in the same conditions who have actually travelled west and north, going deeper into the wilderness of Fish Fork and Iron Mtn.