Hiker rescued from southern Oregon's Mount McLoughlin

A female hiker that lost the trail near the summit of Mount McLoughlin, the highest point in southern Oregon, was rescued by Jackson County search and rescue teams Friday night.

“The hiker lost sight of the pole marking system on the summit area of the mountain and left the trail,” a post from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said. “The hiker attempted to self-rescue by hiking towards Fish Lake but was unable to do so before dark due to very difficult terrain.”

The climb up Mount McLoughlin includes hiking just under 10 miles round-trip and climbing just under 4,000 feet. It follows a well-marked trail until the final 1,000 feet, when it follows a rocky scramble to the top.

Rescuers monitored the hiker’s position via cellphone until the phone lost battery power near nightfall, officials said.

The hiker was not identified by police in the post on social media.

“(Search and rescue) had personnel already deployed to the hiker’s last known location after receiving her call for help,” a news release said.

The searchers located the lost hiker at 9:04 p.m. After supplying the hiker with extra clothing, water and a head lamp, they was led out to the nearest road and reunited with their family at 11 p.m.

“Thank you to the SAR volunteers, and a U.S. Forest Service Ranger for the successful mission,” a news release said.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast . To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal . Urness is the author of “ Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon ” and “ Hiking Southern Oregon .” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Hiker rescued from southern Oregon's Mount McLoughlin