Veteran Hiker, 75, Dies After Fall From Mountain Trail

For years, 75-year-old John Dicmas, a retired hydraulic engineer from Arcadia, hiked the mountain trails in Angeles National Forest.

Authorities said Tuesday that a misstep during one of those hikes may have led to his death.

“The mountains are not always friendly,” Dicmas’ wife, Mary, said Tuesday. “But he enjoyed them for years.”

Dicmas died Monday after he apparently stumbled on a mountain trail and fell 250 feet down a steep slope, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. He was found at the bottom of a rocky slope near the Chantry Flat picnic area and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Dicmas, a native of Pomona, left his Arcadia home to go hiking about 10 a.m. Monday. When he had not returned by dark, his wife contacted the Sierra Madre Police Department, which brought in the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team.

About 10:30 p.m., a search party combing the Upper Winter Creek Trail, which leads to Mt. Wilson, saw Dicmas’ yellow cap at the bottom of a slope next to the trail, said John Inskeep, operations leader of the search and rescue team. They found Dicmas’ body near the bottom.

“The way we piece it together, he fell only about 150 yards from the start of the trail,” Inskeep said. “He was probably walking on the trail and misstepped. He must have begun to tumble. If he had slid, he probably would have survived, because there were shrubs and rocks to grab on to.”

Although investigators determined that Dicmas’ death was accidental, the Los Angeles County coroner had not ruled on the cause of death by late Tuesday.

Critics have said the U.S. Forest Service, which administers the national forest, has been negligent in not posting signs to indicate hazards. Dozens of people are injured every year in accidents in the mountains, ranging from falls to exposure.

Forest Service representatives have said signs are ineffective and subject to vandalism.

Inskeep said the spot where Dicmas fell was not particularly hazardous, although it was at a bend in the trail. “I think he was probably looking at something else or just not paying attention,” Inskeep said. “Maybe he was getting something to eat. It looked like he was carrying his hat and some candy in his hand.”