Hikers

Two hikers were rescued by helicopter Sunday night after reporting they got lost while trekking the Verdugo Mountains, police said. They called emergency dispatchers for help, but the calls kept disconnecting, police said. A helicopter was dispatched about 11 p.m. to the area to look for the hikers, who were severely dehydrated. The helicopter crew spotted a glow from a flashlight at 3,000 feet and flew to the mountain ridge, where they found the hikers, police said.

Six hikers who were lost along the Sunset Ridge trail were escorted out in the wee hours of the morning by the Altadena Mountain Rescue team, according to the sheriffs. Sgt. Debra Herman at the Altadena Sheriff Station says that a 911 call came in from a hiker's cell phone about 2:30 AM this morning (Saturday).  The rescue team and county fire were dispatched, along with a helicopter, and the hikers were located within two hours after the call, Herman said. Sgt. Herman said that, while there was no information on the official report of the hikers being led out, "we wouldn't have left them there.

Three men reported missing in the Angeles National Forest overnight Monday were found uninjured at about 8:35 a.m. today, authorities said. The men were reported missing about 11 p.m. Monday, prompting an overnight search by crews from the Montrose and Sierra Madre search and rescue teams. A Los Angeles County sheriff's helicopter was also used to aid in the search effort. Sheriff's Montrose Search and Rescue Team member Steve Goldsworthy said the men were found uninjured in the Devil's Canyon area of Angeles National Forest.

It's not that members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team and the Glendale Park Rangers don't like saving lives — they just wish people would hike a little more safely. The two agencies have rescued about two dozen lost or injured hikers since June, officials said. "I would love the day to come when we didn't have to go out and search for lost hikers, but with popular outdoor activities, it's part of our job," Park Ranger Supervisor Russ Hauck said. Rescue personnel are trying to spread the word and warn local hikers to be smart when hitting the trails.

Eight hikers were rescued early Tuesday from a hillside above Brand Park after they were unable to climb down a mountain trail, officials said. The hikers were not injured during the incident, which occurred at approximately 11:25 p.m. Monday at the park, Glendale fire officials said. A helicopter crew found the group on a trail near the 7 Pines area and kept a spotlight on them until a rescue crew reached them, officials said. The group told authorities they were working out on the trails, officials said.

Search-and-rescue crews were combing an area of the Angeles National Forest on Tuesday for three missing hikers. The Los Angeles men, ages 32, 45 and 50, left for a hike in the Devil's Canyon-Mt. Waterman area of the San Gabriel Mountains about 9 a.m. Sunday and were expected to return by 5 or 6 p.m., said Steve Goldsworthy, a volunteer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deptartment's Montrose Search and Rescue Team. Family members reported them missing about 10:45 p.m. Sunday after they failed to return home.  L.A. NOW

Gary Moskowitz Ronald Dean Barbour left his La Crescenta home a week ago today for a bicycle ride and hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. His family still is waiting for him to come back. Members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team are assisting the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in searching the portion of the Pacific Crest Trail where Barbour was thought to be -- between Interstate 15 and Highway 138 -- but authorities had found no trace of Barbour by Thursday evening.

Cary Michel huffed and puffed Saturday morning all the way back down from Fire Warden’s Grove, a 3.6-mile hike one way. It was the Glendale resident’s first time hiking in the Verdugo Hills, and after Saturday’s hike, she couldn’t explain why. She only knew she’d be back soon. “It was great,” Michel said in between heavy breaths near the bottom of the fire road off La Tuna Canyon Road. “So beautiful . . . and everyone on the trail was great.

GLENDALE — Eight hikers were rescued Saturday from hiking trails above Brand Park after they became dehydrated and exhausted from heat during their trek, fire officials said. Glendale firefighters searched the Verdugo mountainside for the hikers, who were members of a Los Angeles-based youth group, after receiving their cell-phone calls about 3:12 p.m. Saturday, Capt. Vincent Rifino said. “Definitely, heat was a factor,” he said. Temperatures reached 100 degrees Saturday afternoon, overwhelming the hikers on the trail, Rifino said.

 A 70-year-old man was taken to a local hospital Wednesday morning after he passed out while hiking in the Verdugo Mountains, officials said. The man, whose identity wasn't released, was hiking with a woman about 9:22 a.m. when he became unconscious atop a mountain ridge behind Brand Park on the 1600 block of Mountain Street, officials said. The woman began screaming for help, prompting a flurry of calls to Glendale police from other hikers concerned about her well being. Witnesses reported hearing her screams and seeing someone in a black hooded sweatshirt exit the mountain trails, Glendale Police Lt. Brian Cohen said.

A man who went missing on Friday while hiking near Chantry Flats in the Angeles National Forest turned up safe early Monday morning, authorities said. Matthew Hernandez, 29, had last been seen Friday evening. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Sierra Madre Search and Rescue began searching for Hernandez when he did not return home. Hernandez wandered out of the forest around 3:30 a.m. Monday and called his father, according to authorities. They say Hernandez was very wet and cold, and had become disoriented.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. is looking for a hiker who's been missing since Friday evening. From the release: Sierra Madre Search and Rescue seeks your help in locating a missing person:  Matthew Hernandez, 29, Male Hispanic 5'07" 180 pounds  Last seen: November 19, 2011 6 PM near Chantry Flats located in the Angeles National Forest above Arcadia.  Due to severe weather your help is requested.  Hernandez was last seen wearing a green shirt, denim vest and black pants.

Six hikers who were lost along the Sunset Ridge trail were escorted out in the wee hours of the morning by the Altadena Mountain Rescue team, according to the sheriffs. Sgt. Debra Herman at the Altadena Sheriff Station says that a 911 call came in from a hiker's cell phone about 2:30 AM this morning (Saturday).  The rescue team and county fire were dispatched, along with a helicopter, and the hikers were located within two hours after the call, Herman said. Sgt. Herman said that, while there was no information on the official report of the hikers being led out, "we wouldn't have left them there.

Three men reported missing in the Angeles National Forest overnight Monday were found uninjured at about 8:35 a.m. today, authorities said. The men were reported missing about 11 p.m. Monday, prompting an overnight search by crews from the Montrose and Sierra Madre search and rescue teams. A Los Angeles County sheriff's helicopter was also used to aid in the search effort. Sheriff's Montrose Search and Rescue Team member Steve Goldsworthy said the men were found uninjured in the Devil's Canyon area of Angeles National Forest.

Unseasonably cool temperatures and penny-pinching may be drawing more hikers to local mountains and trails, triggering an uptick in mountain rescues this year, officials said. So far this year, there have been 50 mountain rescues for the Verdugo region, which includes Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale and nine other foothill cities, said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey. There were 56 rescues in all of 2010. He said there is a correlation between the number of hikers rescued and the economic recession.  “People are staying closer to home,” Godfrey said.

Eight hikers were rescued early Tuesday from a hillside above Brand Park after they were unable to climb down a mountain trail, officials said. The hikers were not injured during the incident, which occurred at approximately 11:25 p.m. Monday at the park, Glendale fire officials said. A helicopter crew found the group on a trail near the 7 Pines area and kept a spotlight on them until a rescue crew reached them, officials said. The group told authorities they were working out on the trails, officials said.