Hikers with altitude sickness get stranded on mountain as phones die, NM rescuers say
Two stranded hikers were rescued after their cellphone batteries died descending a mountain trail, New Mexico rescuers say.
As the pair made their way back down from La Luz Trail the evening of Monday, Oct. 7, they started feeling symptoms of altitude sickness, Albuquerque Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post.
A friend gave rescuers the hikers’ last location before their cellphone batteries died, according to the post.
Rescuers from multiple agencies, including the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and County Station 46, set out to look for the hikers with some coming down the mountain and others hiking up, the agency said.
New Mexico Search and Rescue also searched side trails in case the hikers had strayed from the main path, rescuers said.
County crews found the pair and determined one was not fit to make the hike down, rescuers said.
They were put in a wheeled-stretcher for the trek back, officials said.
After rescuers brought the hikers down the mountain, they were both taken to a hospital, rescuers said.
La Luz Trail is a 7.5-mile long trek in the Sandia Mountains, about a 40-mile drive northeast of Albuquerque, according to the United States Forest Service.
“The elevation gain is 3,200 vertical feet,” the agency said. “It is difficult and rewarding.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2024 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Hikers with altitude sickness get stranded on mountain as phones die, NM rescuers say."
