Two women thankful after being rescued from side of mountain

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Three friends from the Sacramento area spent Sunday morning hiking in Desolation Wilderness along the Lyons Creek Trail with a goal of getting to Lake Sylvia, then Pyramid Peak.

They got to Lake Sylvia along a well marked trail, but were getting tired and decided to look for a shortcut to Pyramid Peak.

"We were going to hike the ridge and do a gradual decent," said one of the hikers, Sarah Pollo, 33. "We were pretty tired and looked for a short cut."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," she said. "But it was a miscalculation."

About halfway down the mountain, Sarah and her friend Lisa (who preferred to not give her last name) found they couldn't cross the rocks due to their height. Their hiking partner Eddie, who was is over six-feet tall, was able to cross them and get down off the side of the mountain, but the women were stuck on a ledge about 60 feet up from the bottom.

The women had a cell phone on them, but with no service could only call 911 from their ledge. Their friend Eddie also called 911 from the bottom, but the women did not know that until later.

A helicopter from California Highway Patrol (CHP) circled the area and located Sarah and Lisa. They informed the pair to stay put and El Dorado County Search and Rescue (SAR) were called. CHP picked up two SAR volunteers, Ryder Evans and Rita Mustatia, and went into Desolation. The helicopter was able to land at the base of the mountain and the two SAR volunteers hiked to the top, used their gear to hook into the mountain and then dropped down to the stranded hikers. Sarah and Lisa were harnessed up and then the four rappelled down to the helicopter. They were then taken to Strawberry where Eddie met up with them.

"It was not our intent to scale a rock," said Sarah. "We made a very wrong turn. It's very deceptive when you're on it," she said of the side of the mountain.

"Its crazy what they did for us," Sarah said of the SAR rescue. "Ryder is amazing"

"I owe them my life and am forever grateful," said Lisa. "They risked their lives to save ours."

Both women plan to come back to Lake Tahoe and thank their rescuers again very soon.

"I want to give them a big hug as I can now celebrate my 35th birthday because of them," said Lisa.

Both women are donating to SAR so they may continue to save others who find them in a position in the wilderness were they cannot get out on their own. Lisa said she was surprised to find out the helicopter that helped save them is funding by vehicle registration fees.

"I will never again complain about paying that fee," said Sarah.

During a phone call Tuesday afternoon, Sarah explained how she'd do things differently next time and how others can learn from their ordeal.

"If you're not an experienced hiker, go with a guide," she said. "If there aren't guides go through everything so you're prepared. Carry the right gear."

Sarah said the trail along the ridge was not well marked and a guide would have been able to lead them in the right direction.

"We shouldn't have been on that peak," Sarah explained, knowing what they did was wrong.

The whole rescue operation took about four hours and nobody was injured.

"I am so, so grateful," added Lisa.

Sarah said she won't let this experience deter her from hiking and in fact has plans to hike up Half Dome in Yosemite on Monday.