Two teens stranded on Cabazon Peak

April 18, 2006
Cabazon Peak
2006-04-18

by William Carlson

Another long day of work and class was finally done. It was midnight when I closed my eyes looking forward to some rest. Beep Beep Beep Beep...

With five minutes of rest I was headed to Cabazon Peak to rescue two hikers stranded on a cliff. After receiving a call from Gwenda informing me that I was the only person responding I picked up my best friend and long time climbing partner, Scott. If we had a technical rescue on our hands there would be no way for me to perform it myself.

The two of us met Gwenda in Cabazon. The Sheriff Officer gave us a quick run down of the situation and pointed out where the two kids light was coming from. Taking a look at a map Scott and I soon realized that there was no trail. We picked what looked like a good route following a ridge toward the summit. Base Team 1 radio check. Loud and Clear. We were off!

Almost instantly our route headed up. In fact thats all we could do to get to the hikers. We made quick progress and were reassured knowing that team members Ray Hussey and Mike George were heading up behind us. Scott and I reached the two young hikers in a little under an hour. They were quite cold but in good condition. After warming the hikers and giving them some water we headed back. We ended up climbing approximately 100 feet up in order to get out of the boulder field they were in. From there it was just a matter of avoiding the 15 foot high bushes. We followed the same ridge we came up on and soon met Mike and Ray. After a quick break for some water we continued down. Another great mission!

Authors note: Missions like this one are some of my favorite. Even though we werent in the highcountry, we didnt use any technical skills, and the rescue didnt involve lots of hiking We made a difference in someones life. That is why RMRU exists.