Item on hiker’s dashboard helps in his rescue after icy, 200-foot fall, CA crews say
A forward-thinking hiker was rescued after he left something behind on his car’s dashboard, California crews say.
Rescuers were called about a hiker who slipped on ice, causing him to fall about 200 feet near Mt. Williamson in Angeles National Forest on Sunday, March 23, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Montrose Search and Rescue Team said in a Facebook post.
The fall left the hiker with a broken leg, Mike Leum, an assistant director with the sheriff’s department, said in a post on Threads.
Rescuers said the hiker left a map on his car’s dashboard.
“This helped us know his intended route,” rescuers wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The map shows the hiker’s planned route: an about 4-mile long out-and-back trek to summit Mt. Williamson over the course of nearly three hours, a photo shared by rescuers shows.
With his intended route in hand, a Los Angeles County Fire’s Air Operations crew tracked him down then airlifted him from the area, the agency said.
“We’d like to thank the hiker for leaving a map of his intended route on the dashboard of his car,” rescuers wrote. “This can help ground teams locate you in an emergency.”
Rescuers also advised hikers to fill out a Los Angeles County Hiking Plan before heading out on a trek.
“Having this information available can be crucial in an emergency,” rescuers said.
Mt. Williamson is about a 50-mile drive northeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Item on hiker’s dashboard helps in his rescue after icy, 200-foot fall, CA crews say."
