Two hikers died on Sauk Mountain Trail last weekend – Cascadia Daily News

Two hikers died on Sauk Mountain Trail last weekend  Cascadia Daily News

Steep, eroded trail is jurisdiction of U.S. Forest Service Two hikers died on Sauk Mountain Trail near Rockport last weekend, adding to the growing number of fatalities on the steep, narrow trail. A 78-year-old Edmonds man, Peter Kalapaca, was found dead Friday, Sept. 18 after he was separated from his family while hiking the Sauk Mountain Trail the day before. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office began a search and rescue operation by ground and air on Thursday evening. The search continued through most of Friday, and a helicopter flight crew spotted Kalapaca in inaccessible, steep terrain that evening. A helicopter from North Cascades National Park was used to recover his body.

Sauk Mountain Trail reopened Saturday, Sept. 19 after the recovery. Later on the same day, a second hiker, identified as 66-year-old Gary Idleburg of Olympia, also fell and died, the sheriff’s office confirmed Sept. 21. Around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Skagit 911 received multiple emergency calls from people who had seen a person fall approximately 800 to 1,000 from the steep, switchbacked trail. Hikers found Idleburg and emergency personnel began lifesaving efforts, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. State parks personnel helped Skagit County Search & Rescue with the recovery operation that evening. The narrow 4.2-mile, out-and-back trail has around two dozen exposed switchbacks and has