3 Mount Shasta Hikers Stranded Overnight After AI Misplanned Summit Route

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 6

Three novice hikers from Roseville were rescued after spending a night stranded in Mount Shasta's Mud Creek Canyon when their summit attempt ran dangerously off course.
Google Gemini had guided their route and packing, authorities said, recommending too little food and water for what became a multi-day ordeal instead of an eight-hour climb.
At 8,400 feet, the group left camp at 3 a.m. Sunday, reached the summit only at 7 p.m.—well past the sheriff's recommended noon turnaround—and descended in darkness.
About an hour later, they called for directions, wandered off the Clear Creek Route, and one hiker injured his knee in a fall, leaving the trio stuck until U.S. Forest Service rangers arrived next morning.
The Siskiyou County sheriff's office urged climbers to check with the Mount Shasta Ranger Station, carry backup navigation, and avoid relying solely on AI on a mountain where getting lost has led to serious accidents and deaths.