Two Yakima-area men who went missing overnight while hiking in Pierce County were found safe Wednesday morning.
“This was not on my bucket list – to get lost,” said Jim Barnhill, who said the first thing on his list now was to get some hot soup.
Barnhill, 80, of Yakima, and Jon Harlan, 75, of Naches, were reported missing about 6 p.m. Tuesday off state Route 410 in the Greenwater area, north of Mount Rainier, said Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Jerry Bates.
The two men were with a group of 14 hikers from Yakima with the Cascadians club.
The group was hiking from Corral Pass to Noble Knob peak. All reached Noble Knob about 1 p.m. Tuesday, but when they returned to the trailhead, the two men were missing.
When the men didn’t return, the group waited at the trailhead for two hours and then called 911.
Search and rescue crews responded to state Route 410 and Forest Service Road 7174, north of Crystal Mountain Resort, Bates said.
Between 20 and 30 people searched for the men, some on foot, some in vehicles and others with dogs. King County’s Guardian One helicopter also helped in the search.
Barnhill and Harlan became separated from their hiking group when they stopped to take photos and then got lost on the trail after they took a wrong turn and ended up on a dead end road.
When they realized they were lost, they huddled together for the night beneath a tree. Both men had windbreakers on.
“It was about 41 degrees,” Barnhill said. “We shivered and shook and I don’t think either one of us got any sleep.”
Asked how he slept, he laughed and answered, “We snuggled.”
About 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Barnhill and Harlan resumed walking and eventually found a road. They came across a hunter, who gave them a ride and offered his cell phone so they could call authorities to report their location.
Barnhill called his wife, Dolores, about 10 a.m. and told her that he and Harlan were safe.
“It was mighty cold last night,” he told her.
“At least you slept,” she told her husband, “I didn’t.”
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