Rescuers robbed at gunpoint trying to aid distressed hiker
LOS ANGELES — Add armed robbery to the threats facing hikers this year on the Pacific Crest Trail.
A section of the popular trail running from Mexico to Canada remained closed Monday as Kern County SWAT team members joined deputies to search for two armed men who robbed rescuers trying to aid a distressed hiker.
The incident Saturday in the remote Piute Mountains about 85 miles (137 kilometres) north of Los Angeles occurred after hiker Charles Brandenburg became dehydrated in scorching heat and activated a rescue device that allowed him to send text messages to authorities.
Hikers trying to complete the 2,650-mile (4,265-kilometre) trail have encountered several challenges from an exceptionally wet winter that left a persistent snowpack and has made for arduous plodding and presented several hazards. Several hikers have been injured, and others have reported close calls scaling icy passes and fording raging rivers.