SANTA YNEZ The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team rescued two 20-year-old female hikers from San Luis Obispo who got lost near Grass Mountain on Sunday.
The two hikers started for Zaca Ridge on Sunday afternoon around 1 p.m. and used the All Trails app, according to a Sheriff’s Department news release. As they moved westward, the hikers lost the trail and a rainstorm moved in. They then sought cover and called 9-1-1 for help. Twelve Search and Rescue team members responded after dispatch informed them the hikers were west of Grass Mountain toward Zaca Ridge.
After some hard traveling through steep terrain, overgrown trails, and stormy weather, the team received updated coordinates and traveled down a steep hillside using ropes for hand lines, authorities said.
The team found the hikers around 2 a.m. Monday and gave them dry, waterproof clothes before hiking with them to the team’s vehicles on Zaca Ridge Road.
Medics evaluated the hikers and the Search and Rescue team transported them back to their vehicle at 6:45 a.m.