Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20170208/man-rescued-off-mt-baldy-finally-reunited-with-dog-he-had-to-leave-behind

A happy ending and recognized one of the names.

I'm grateful for the happy ending. Particularly when a dog is involved.

I wonder how and where he went wrong. The last time I went down the Ski Hut trail, which was last summer, there was a strange 'fork' in the trail I had never seen before. I'm sure the right-hand turn was due to people short-cutting the trail down to the service road. They probably knew what they were doing, but it was misleading people who wanted to stay on the trail. People were taking the right-hand fork, then coming back up with unhappy looks on their faces and a fair amount of grumbling.

If the fork you're referring to was after the ski hut on your way down, I also made the incorrect "right" turn there.

We had done a full moon hike and was on our way down. A short stop at the hut and I put my son in front and said there is only one trail, we can't get lost. 10 mins later I said I didnt recognize anything and it started getting steep. I led us back up with the intention of staying at the hut but then ran into the correct trail. We were definitely heading down a drainage as opposed to a ridge. And we could tell a lot of others had gone down that way but then in the dark all sign vanished.

Anyways, the rescue was a feel good story. Especially with the help of some of the regular Baldy hikers involved.

Dan

drndr wrote:If the fork you're referring to was after the ski hut on your way down, I also made the incorrect "right" turn there.

Dan,

I'm sure it is the same fork. At least you have the excuse of being in the dark. I was puzzling over it mid-afternoon, thinking it might simply be two ways of getting around a rock or something like that, when I saw the people coming back up, and knew it was the wrong way to go. I had come up by the service road and Devil's Backbone, so it was completely new to me.

The problem with wrong turns is that they can get worn in very quickly - trod once on the way out, another time on the return. Oh, those clear trails that peter out in 20 or so yards ...

ETA: What a feel-good story!