Hiker Recovers In Hospital After Night On The Peak
A missing hiker is recovering in the hospital tonight after search crews rescued her early this morning.
Friends reported the 53 year-old woman missing yesterday morning after she failed to return from her solo hike.
A causal hike turned into an overnight fight for survival for the riverside resident.
Rescuers say coleman — described as an experienced hiker — got a late start last night.
A winter storm forced her to spend the night at the peak of this mountain.
With wind gusting up to 90 miles an hour — and overnight temperatures well below freezing — rescuers say the woman should have waited or at least had a GPS.
“You have fog all around you and if your not carrying a GPS or a compass, you can’t tell which direction your going,” says rescuer Gwenda Yetes. “Everything looks the same all your seeing is white all around you there’s no way to tell.”
Coleman eventually took shelter in a rock hut at the peak.
She was disoriented and injured — but equipped for a night at the peak — but not much longer.
Ground crews started searching mountain last night but the gusty wind made air rescue impossible.
“She was pretty excited to see that helicopter, as you would be if you were up there all night,” says Yetes.
The weather made it hard for rescuers this weekend.
It was the 5th rescue in that area in past 2 days but something they say that could have been avoided.
Coleman being treated at desert regional medical center for frostbite and an ankle injury.
Doctors say she’ll make a full recovery.
