PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multnomah County Search and Rescue crews were able to reach a stranded hiker Monday afternoon near Munra Point in the Columbia River Gorge.
Dispatchers received a call around 10:30 a.m. from a person at the Bonneville Dam who spotted smoke from a signal fire near the top of a cliffside. The call said that they used a scope to witness an apparent hiker in distress.
Multnomah County deputies confirmed the sighting and activated Multnomah County Search and Rescue (MCSOSAR) and dispatched the Hood River Crag Rats, a highly-skilled mountain rescue team.
Two teams with members from MCSOSAR and the Crag Rats left the trailhead in an attempt to contact the hiker and determine the best rescue option, around 1 p.m. Rescue teams reached the stranded hiker, a 51-year-old man, just after 4 p.m. According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, the man was able to walk with search and rescue members.
The trail the man was on had been closed since the Eagle Creek fire in 2017.
The man had early stages of hypothermia according to search and rescue crews, but it was reported that the man was in good condition when he came down from the trail and declined to be taken to the hospital.
The hiker said he went for a hike on Sunday, but became disoriented and lost sight of the trail after a few hours. He began to work his way back down the hillside, but could only go so far due to sheer cliffs. The man also said he was wearing sandals that came off while coming down the hill and that his phone had died.
Munra Point is an exposed rocky viewpoint located west of Wahclella Falls. Police say that the Munra Point trail is not maintained and climbs approximately 2,000 vertical feet in two miles.
For updates, follow the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office on social media @MultCoSO.
Matt Rawlings contributed to this story.