Three hikers who got lost on Mount Shasta and spent the night in a gully told their rescuers that they used Google’s Gemini AI to plan their trip.
The three — described as young men from Roseville and “novice hikers” — were escorted off the 14,179-foot peak Monday by a team of rescuers, said a report from the Siskiyou County sheriff’s office.
The men said they had camped Saturday night around 8,400 feet elevation and set off for the summit at 3 a.m. Sunday, carrying daypacks. Though hikers are advised to turn around if they haven’t reached the summit by noon, the party pressed on and reached the top about 7 p.m.
Descending in the dark, they called the Siskiyou County sheriff’s office at one point to ask for directions, then ended up going off course. Instead of sticking to the Clear Creek Route, they found themselves in Mud Creek Canyon — where, with one hiker hobbled by an injured knee, they spent the night in a steep drainage, the sheriff’s report said.
On Monday morning, they were met by U.S. Forest Service climbing rangers and search-and-rescue volunteers from the sheriff’s office, and they walked out to the trailhead.
The report from the sheriff’s office reinforced the wisdom of the 12 p.m. turnaround rule, and also advised that hikers have “multiple methods of wayfinding,” including an offline method, rather than relying on a phone.
“It is always advisable to call the local USFS Mount Shasta ranger station ahead of your trip to ensure you have the most accurate information, and to never rely solely on AI for your trip planning,” it added.
In particular, it said, the three men “were advised by Gemini to bring far less food and water than their group required, especially when their planned 8-hour ascent became a multiday ordeal.”
Shasta, the fifth-highest peak in California, can be ascended by routes that don’t require technical climbing skills, but all are arduous hikes. The ranger station’s number is 530-926-4511.
