OREGON, USA — Two hikers and a dog were rescued Friday evening after becoming stranded on the Larch Mountain Trail.
Around 6 p.m., dispatchers from Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) received a text from two hikers, who also reported they had a dog with them, who were stranded in the dark. Dispatchers were able to get the hikers' coordinates and determined they were around two miles from the Multnomah Falls' trailhead. Due to unreliable phone service, MCSO, the hikers had to resort to text messaging.
MCSO deputies and 23 MCSO search and rescue volunteers went into the area, locating the hikers, who had stayed put in the same area, around 9:45 p.m. The searchers were able to guide the hikers and their dog down the trail; no one was injured.
The hikers reported about 25 feet of trail damage due to a landslide on the Larch Mountain Trail, about a quarter mile south of the junction of the Wahkeena Falls and Larch Mountain Trails.
On Saturday night, the National Weather Service is forecasting heavy rain, and snow in elevations higher than 2,500 feet in the Columbia River Gorge and Cascades. Rain increases the likelihood of landslides, especially in the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burn scar area, MCSO warned.
After a flurry of rescues in 12 hours in October, the Skamania County sheriff noted to KGW that when the Eagle Creek Fire closed trails in the Columbia Gorge, she saw a spike in hikers accessing trails in Washington and an increase in calls for help. She added that the number of rescue calls has increased over the last five years.
MCSO also cautioned hikers that due to the end of daylight saving time, it gets darker earlier, and even experienced hikers can get disoriented.
