SEQUIM — Suk-Seong Chan was hiking with fellow members of the Klahhane Hiking Club on Slab Camp trail Wednesday when she made what could have been a fatal mistake.
The 72-year-old Sequim woman decided to walk ahead of her three companions to scope out another potential hike when she slipped on snow and slid down a hill.
She tried to climb up several times but found the snow-covered hillside just inside Olympic National Park about 10 miles south of Sequim too much of a challenge.
“Every time I tried to get up to the trail, I would slide down,” Chan said.
“I did it so many times, I said, ‘There’s no point in climbing up.’
“I decided to walk at the bottom and hopefully pick up the trail.”
The time was 11:30 a.m.
24 hours later
With a compass and map in hand and only an apple and bag of nuts to eat, Chan set out on a trek that would lead her back to the trailhead on Lost Mountain Road nearly 24 hours later.
A park ranger posted at the trailhead to keep an eye out for Chan spotted her at 8:30 a.m. She was tired but in good spirits.
“I said, ‘Oh my God. I hope I didn’t cause much trouble,’” Chan recalled telling the ranger.
9-person search team
Parks spokesman Dave Reynolds said the park deployed a nine-person search team earlier that morning. A ranger was posted at the trailhead all night.
Chan’s hiking companions spent much of Wednesday looking for her and notified the park of her absence that evening.
“We were very fortunate she was able to find her way back,” Reynolds said, noting the area’s steep terrain and snow.
But Chan, who considers herself an avid hiker, didn’t appear to think much of it Thursday.
“I wasn’t that concerned because I had confidence that, if I picked up the trail, I should be OK,” she said.
Chan said she was wearing two jackets and a fleece but found it difficult to keep warm at night. She stayed awake the entire night and drank from nearby streams.
Not scared to hike again
Chan said the experience hasn’t deterred her from hiking again, though she plans to stay away from snowy areas.
She said she plans to go on another hike with the club this weekend.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.