2 Hikers Rescued Below Montecito Peak

Cold Springs Trail Area - October 30th, 2011

The Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Team (SAR) and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s helicopter combined to rescue two female hikers who got lost while hiking the Cold Springs Trail near Montecito Peak on Saturday, October 29, 2011.

The two women, in their mid-twenties, began their hike on the lower portion of the trail when they missed a turn about 1½ miles up from the trailhead on Mountain Drive. After reaching a dead end, the duo began climbing up a steep drainage until they reached the bottom of a cliff. Unable to continue farther, the hikers attempted to climb back down, but realized it was too steep to navigate safely.

At approximately 12:18pm, the women made a 9-1-1 call to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center requesting help.  Dispatch personnel, using the GPS coordinates provided from the subject’s cell phone, located the general area of the hikers before paging the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue team to assist. 

Eleven SAR members responded in combination with a Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Helicopter. Shortly after arriving in the area, the helicopter located the hikers on the side of a cliff. The Sheriff’s copter airlifted three SAR mountain rescue personnel above the hikers to gain access to the two women.  With the guidance of the copter, SAR personnel cut a trail through dense brush approximately ¼ mile down to a position approximately 80 feet above the hikers. 

Using ropes and technical rock rescue gear, SAR established access to the hikers. With additional support from SAR personnel hiking up from below, the two women were escorted down to their vehicles unharmed; the Search and Rescue operation was completed shortly after 4:00pm.

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