The San Benito County District Water manager and a Campbell man
were rescued Wednesday after being trapped in the snow for two days
in the mountains of Tuolumne County.
Bridgeport – The San Benito County District Water manager and a Campbell man were rescued Wednesday after being trapped in the snow for two days in the mountains of Tuolumne County.
District Water manager John Gregg, 64, of Hollister, and Gene Powell, 70, of Campbell, were returning from a five-day backpacking trip with several others when 15 inches of snow fell overnight, forcing the two men to stop their journey. Two other members of the party left the stranded hikers to seek help, and that night one of them led members of the Mono County search and rescue team to the scene. The team reached Gregg and Powell around 10 p.m. Monday.
An employee at the water district confirmed it was the same Gregg who was rescued.
Six Marines and one Navy doctor from the nearby Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) left the military base around 6:30am Tuesday and arrived at the scene at about 2pm to find the older men uninjured. According to Capt. Joshua Massey of the MWTC, “there was nothing wrong with the two men medically.”
However, the rescue mission was held up because of the heavy snowfall, delaying Gregg and Powell’s return to the base of the mountain until about 3:30 Wednesday afternoon.
“Our biggest problem in getting them back down was the weather conditions. We were getting about six to eight inches of snow every three or four hours,” said Capt. Shane Hanson, who led the MWTC’s rescue party. “The problem was, we were moving at night with the trees, rocks, and about three feet of snow.”
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
