Day Hike Gone Wrong!

This story took place 2016 on Labor Day Weekend in Lassen National Park

Lesson #1. Never-EVER take essentials out of your day pack even if you think that you are going on a “short” simple day hike in the woods, on a very established trail, and your plans are all laid out.

Lesson #2. Make sure that the plans for your ride home are well established and known by everyone involved. Make sure everyone repeats back in unison said plans and there are no misunderstandings. Draw a map if necessary.

The Hike and “Plan”

At noon, three of us set out to hike to the top of Mt. Harkness where there is a lookout tower. This is a 4 mile UP hike with a 3000 ft elevation gain. It kicked my butt pretty good, but the view at the top was spectacular! Our plan was to hike to the top (4 miles) then hike down to the other side of the mountain (2 miles) to Lake Juniper where our friends were kayaking. They would then drive us the 25 miles back to the cabin in which we were all staying.

This is where Lesson #2 comes into play. I don’t want to get into specifics, but there was a huge miscommunication about the plans and we didn’t have a ride when we reached the lake at 5:30pm. We were stuck 25 miles away from the cabin in the woods with NO cell service.

It’s starting to get dark and we are only wearing our thin day hiking clothes and this is where Lesson #1 comes into play. NEVER TAKE YOUR EXTRA CLOTHES AND OTHER STUFF THAT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE OUT OF YOUR DAY PACK! EVER!!!

The Wait in the Cold

We waited by the side of the only road that came into the lake area near some campgrounds. There was a ranger station at the entrance but it was CLOSED! Labor Day Weekend and nobody at the station? Seriously? What if someone at the campground needed medical help? It’s getting dark and the temp is rapidly falling. Now it’s pitch dark and we are freezing! Do we start hiking the 25 miles? Well, we gave it a good thought but, not knowing if our ride was coming we could have been out there all night walking and freezing in the pitch dark forest for 25 miles. Do we hike back up 2000 feet in the pitch black rugged wilderness where there were signs of bears to the lookout tower? My tired aching body said no way. It would have taken a few hours as the elevation was brutal. My teeth were chattering and I sat down against the ranger building holding my knees trying not to become hypothermic!

Trail Angels! – MULE PEOPLE ARE THE BEST!

Near the ranger station, we spot a corral with a two mules eating hay. Next to the corral was a couple enjoying a beautiful and WARM campfire. We walked over and asked if we could stand by their fire while we waited for our friends who surely would be coming to look for us at the lake! Dan and Abigail were very accommodating and let us warm by their fire. It’s now 9:30 pm and nobody is coming to our rescue. We hear a helicopter over head! Is that for us? Nope. It just kept flying! Abigail said that if our friends didn’t come for us by 10:00pm they would break down camp and drive us back. At 10:00 pm, Dan and Abigail broke down camp, which required them to secure their camper and put away all sorts of stuff for the long bumpy 25 mile ride on a dirt road in the pitch dark. About half-way back to civilization, we spot the folks from our cabin rambling up the dirt road in search of us, completely freaked out and moments from calling the sheriffs office to initiate a search and rescue operation. It was midnight when we finally reached the cabin.

Moral of the Story

There are wonderful people in the world like Dan Sehnert and Abigail Madden. They live by the Cowboy code for sure! You can’t go wrong with folks who ride mules!!!

My HUGE lesson in all of this is to be prepared to spend the night out in the cold (it was in the 30s and I’m sure it got even colder as the night progressed) even if you are going on a day hike in the wilderness.

Update 2022: The Dixie fire ravaged this area in 2021. The lookout is gone as well as our friend’s cabin never to be rebuilt. It burned almost one million acres.