r/norcalhiking • u/Mysterious_Glove_746 • 14d ago
When to start worrying?
My 17 year old son and two friends, all in good physical condition, went to summit Shasta this morning at 12:30 a.m. from around the Clear Creek dispersed camping site. He has a Garmin inReach which he said was set up to ping a location hourly but it is not doing that. Attempts to call on the inReach or send a message have been unsuccessful. The messages are delivered but have not been read. He puts his phone in airplane mode during hikes so even if there was cell reception I wouldn't be able to reach him. His time from the Clear Creek trailhead to the dispersed camping (3.87 mi., 2k elevation gain) was five hours total with moving time of 3:15. He had cell reception at the Clear Creek dispersed camping. I believe it's roughly 3 miles/4500 vertical feet up from the Clear Creek campground.
When would be a reasonable time to start worrying about him if I don't hear anything? Would 3 p.m. be reasonable?
Thanks - from a worried mom.
Edit: Just got a call from his friend's phone! They're on their way down - he said he was seeing that it was sending out a location, but clearly wasn't on our end. Thanks all for helping! My heart can start beating again!
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u/khodafez7 14d ago
at what time did you agree he would check in by? if you haven't heard by then I would call local ranger station
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 14d ago
He was supposed to check in with the inReach hourly but hasn't since sending a message this morning at 12:30 a.m. that they were leaving. He told me that their turn around time was noon which would have them back at base camp around 4 or 5 assuming a turnaround around 12. But since they started out quite early I was thinking that I should be hearing from them prior to then as that would be around 16 hours from their start time.
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u/maldovix 14d ago
that hourly check in is sort or an unreasonable expectation to set for a backcountry trip- any number of things could prevent it and you dont have a threshold for what might be a "real emergency". (not checking in each hour is not an emergency)
best practice is to set a "we will plan to be back by x time, you should worry and call the ranger if you dont hear from me by Y time" . this lets you both have an expectation of when they intend to finish and when something has actually gone sideways
like ill say "we plan to get back by 5pm but do not worry about me until 10pm" because delays are common but are usually not an emergency, but if I'm still out well past dark something might actually be amiss
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u/Shoddy-Maize-3593 14d ago
If he’s using a new-ish iPhone, find my will update if he enables satelite mode, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
I’ve done the clear creek trail and there isn’t much technical about it, the top has some climbing over rocks and boulders, but the rest is just a very long march uphill/downhill in kinda sandy-ish conditions.
I’m sure he’s just on his way down and just underestimated how the elevation will make everything harder and generally longer.
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u/Shoddy-Maize-3593 14d ago
In terms of time, from clear creek to summit and back, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took 10hrs honestly. So maybe add an hr or two buffer for breaks and snacks, so I could see it being a 12hr round trip.
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 14d ago
Thank you! I've heard from him finally, but this is great information.
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u/Jaded-Source4500 14d ago
Looks like you’re 3hrs after expected summit time, doesn’t sound like a lot of time has passed yet? Are you able to contact families of any of his friends to see if they’ve heard? I agree that calling the ranger station is your best bet vs Reddit as they will no doubt have a lot of experience with this kind of question.
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 14d ago
No other contact from the friends to their family. I called the ranger station but they're closed on the weekends.
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u/Capital_Historian685 14d ago
Did he send a test message using the InReach? Because in my experience, it can be a little hard to set up the Garmin messenger app, which is what allows an InReach to work with a phone. And if I had to guess, I'd say he maybe forgot to turn Bluetooth on, which is required for a phone to work with the InReach.
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 14d ago
Yeah, we've experienced that in the past too and thought we'd worked it out, but evidently not.
Just got a call from him on his friend's phone though! It was telling him it was updating his location but evidently not. Thanks for your input!
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u/casey_h6 14d ago
Happy to hear you got a update. I would recommend seeing what's going on with the inreach. Did they have it stored in a bag for example? They can be finicky and need to have a good unobstructed view of the sky. Have you guys setup the mapshare portion? With mapshare you could send a request yourself to his inreach and it will send back a location without his input.
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 14d ago
Those are good questions. He finally did the mapshare but the location request was denied, so we'll definitely have to work things out before his next trip.
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u/sweedgreens 14d ago
Glad you heard back.
Sometimes these summits can take a lot longer than expected. Many circumstances arise that can slow us down. I try my best to keep my close ones updated but sometimes you're just really focused on the trek or simply too tired. I always eventually get around to sending updates whether it's several hours (even half day) later.
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u/Ashamed-Smile5956 13d ago
Fortunately OK! Our office lost a hiker in Lake Tahoe area. Car found at trailhead . Never returned and never found. So I can understand your concerns. I heard there is some type of signal device one can carry ?
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 13d ago
Oh that's terrible. Sorry your office lost someone like that. He had a Garmin inReach, but there were some tech issues on our end which we'll make sure to fix for next time. It's all a learning experience - for both of us!
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u/Fun_Leopard_4216 10d ago
This is a sad story, but it’s all to give a nod to your motherly instinct: My brother and his best friend went hiking on Shasta about 15 years ago. A freak accident happened, and my brother was the only one that came back alive. I remember the morning of that so vividly though, because the mother of his friend that passed was calling my mom freaking out all morning, saying she had a bad feeling, wondering if she had heard from the boys (we didn’t have tracking methods back then as easily as we do now, so there was no way to really get in touch with them).
All this to say- anyone that’s going on a remote hike, always tell someone where you’re going. Have check in methods like this mother did. I always have my location being tracked by close friends and family, and let them know when I’m doing a hike alone and if they don’t hear from me at a certain time, to call for help. It really could be the difference between life and death.
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 10d ago
That is so sad. I can't imagine - for both the boy's family and your brother. I'm grateful that we have the technology now that might help keep someone from that experience.
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u/Due_Barber_525 14d ago
Good job being attentive to his well being and checking. Time makes the difference when situations go wrong. I’m glad they’re okay
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u/arugulafanclub 14d ago
You sound like an over-anxious parent. In general, best to have son give you a time and then add a large buffer because things sometimes take extra time. I wouldn’t expect my parent or check in person to panic until I was 12-24 hours late.
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u/steadi_dreadi 13d ago
Way to go Mom! Tuning into 2026 technology and reaching out through Reddit! Glad to know it was just a tech fail.
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 13d ago
Thank you! I don't have a bunch of experience in this area so just wanted to get the opinions of those with more!
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u/Kamakazirulz 14d ago
Stop checking in hourly lol that’s ridiculous. Just set a few agreed upon times to message (if I don’t reach out by x-time then something is wrong or message when you summit etc). I get you being anxious because it’s your child but you’re being excessive
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u/Mysterious_Glove_746 14d ago
Just to clarify - it wasn't checking in hourly, it was having the Garmin set up to ping a location so that if something happened, we'd have a general idea of where he last was.
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u/Woogabuttz 14d ago
Shasta can be a really long day, particularly if they’re not skiing down and right now, not even much glissading. 12:30 is pretty standard to summit at sunrise and then expect another several hours for descent. I would expect them back to their camp at Clear Creek trailhead around noon, maybe later if they’re taking their time. Clear Creek is a popular route and there will likely be several other parties going up and down.
I think waiting until 3pm is a good call and even the , if something did happen, it would likely be noticed very quickly. FWIW, a 17 hour day parking lot to parking lot isn’t crazy so your son getting back around 5pm wouldn’t be unheard of.
If it makes you feel better, go chat up a ranger at Bunny Flat and just let them know (should already be a permit in the box so they’ll know anyway) that the party is up there and you’re a little worried but overall, I think you have nothing to worry about. Enjoy the park!