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Three hikers who relied on AI and videos to help plan their ascent of Mount Shasta in Northern California had to be rescued after going off-trail, rangers said.
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The hikers told rangers they used AI and videos to plan how much food and water to bring, as well as what kind of food, on the trip, U.S. Forest Service rangers with the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said in a news release posted Tuesday, Sept. 1.
“We relied too much on AI rather than our own critical thinking,” the hikers told rangers, according to the release.
The hikers set off from a trailhead on Saturday, Aug. 29, to scale the 14,179-foot mountain, which is about 220 miles north of Sacramento.
They established a base camp that evening and began climbing to the summit at 3 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, rangers said. They made slow progress and at 1 p.m. debated whether to continue or return to their base camp.
After receiving conflicting advice from other hikers, the three continued to the summit of Mount Shasta but ended up calling 911 seeking directions on their descent, rescuers said.
They wound up going off-route and the battery charge on the mobile phone they had been using to guide them died, rangers said. A backup battery charger failed to work.
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One hiker fell and injured his knee, but the trio continued trying to descend the mountain until about midnight, when they stopped and made camp, rangers said.
“The party was not prepared to spend an open night on the mountain, and lacked adequate food, water, warm layers, or an emergency bivy,” rangers said.
At 9:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31, rangers found the “exhausted, hungry, and thirsty” hikers. A California Highway Patrol helicopter was unable to hoist the hikers because of terrain and strong winds, so they hiked out with rangers.
“It’s important to use reliable information sources for climbs like Mount Shasta, and to have backups to any electronic navigation you might use,” rangers said, suggesting paper maps.
“It’s also important to have an established turnaround time and stick to that,” they advised. “Finally, on a mountain the size of Mount Shasta, it’s critical to have enough food and water for a long day or two, and to have adequate clothing and supplies in case you have to spend an unexpected night on the mountain.”
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This story was originally published September 2, 2026 at 12:31 PM.