FIVE HIKERS learned last weekend how easy it is to get lost in the Ventana Wilderness after a snow storm. And they later discovered they weren’t really lost at all.

The hikers were described by Monterey County Sheriff’s deputy Kenneth Owen as “young men from the Fresno area between 18 and 20.” They left China Camp on Chews Ridge Dec. 28, and hiked west along the Pine Ridge Trail toward the coast. Two days later, they were found 11 miles away at Cienega Camp, a little-known backpacking site that Owen said is located “dead center in the middle of nowhere.”

When the hikers set out, they didn’t know where they were going, Owen told The Pine Cone. “And they were ill-prepared for the conditions. There was a lot of snow up there.”

Given the storm, the snow was no surprise — China Camp is located at about 4,350 feet, and after a steep descent to Church Creek Divide and Pine Valley, the hikers had to climb another ridge just as high.

At some point during their westward trek, the hikers lost sight of the trail, which had become covered by snow. According to Owen, the last landmark the hikers reported seeing was a sign marking a spur trail to Bear Basin Camp. Somehow, they managed to make it to Cienega Camp, which is located six miles away.

“By mid day Saturday, they realized they were lost, so they started looking for cell coverage,” Owen explained.

Two of the hikers climbed high enough and were able to call 911. Later, they discovered they were standing just a short distance from the same Bear Basin sign that provided their last landmark. But they thought they had strayed as far as five miles from the spot.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter retrieved the hikers and transported them to a ranch along Tassajara Road.

“We warmed them up,” Owen recalled. “They were close to getting hypothermia.”

Uninjured, the hikers were given a ride back to China Camp, where they were reunited with their vehicle, and soon were on there way back home.