Summer temps but snow still in store for hikers

A hiker missing since Wednesday in the Olympic National Park has been rescued.

David Snider, 55, went out around 4 p.m. on a relatively mild afternoon for what he expected to be a short hike. He was not prepared for the cold he encountered higher up after he lost track of the trail.

“I didn’t snow during the day, but there was snow on the ground. He hiked in and out of the snow. That is actually how we were able to locate him, because he had left tracks in the snow,” says Rainey McKenna with the Olympic National Park.

After a helicopter crew spotted those tracks, another helicopter with special infrared heat-sensing equipment was brought in overnight. They were finally able to pinpoint his position around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

The hiker hoisted from a drainage near the Irely Lake Loop trail by a King County Sheriff’s Rescue Helicopter. Snider was dehydrated and slightly hypothermic, but otherwise doing relatively well.

Snider told his rescuers he became trapped when he tried to loop back to the Irely Lake trailhead through a shortcut. Deep snow on the ridges and steep terrain in the drainage trapped him near the creek.

Fortunately, he had told co-workers about his plans. When he failed to show up for work on Wednesday morning, they notified the authorities.

With the arrival of this warm weather, McKenna says the park service is putting more rangers on the trails to help visitors who might lose their way. But, it is also important that hikers come prepared.

“We do still have snow on the ground in the high country, and when we have beautiful weather like this people just often come out unprepared to step into a couple feet of snow,” says McKenna.

Even if you stay on the lower trails, streams and rivers are running fast and high. They are unusually challenging to cross. Daytime temperatures are in the 70’s, but overnight temps are still dipping back down into the 30’s.

Although you might only be planning a short trek, McKenna says you should always bring extra clothing, food and water. Also, remember to take along the ten essentials of hiking. You never know when you might be in for a night in the cold.