Father and Son Lost 5 Days in Forest Rescued

Things started to go bad last Saturday.

That is when hail pelted the father and son like BB pellets and lightning zapped at them on the exposed rock where they were hiking in Kings Canyon National Park.

Delbert and Corey Clayton never really got back on track after that.

Exhausted after trying to find their way back on course, they camped for three days in a ravine more than 10,500 feet above sea level, building fires and waving blankets.

Slowly, they tried to work their way down, hoping that help would come.

Five days later it did.

Delbert Clayton, 51, was spotted from the air as he stood on a rock ledge at 6:45 p.m. Thursday.

His son Corey, 21, was found about a half mile away from his father about 8 a.m. Friday.

Both men were unhurt.

But their discovery did not come soon enough to spare friends and family the agony of waiting four days to see if their men would come home.

Peggi Clayton; Corey Clayton’s girlfriend, Sierra Wallis; and friends and relatives exploded into whoops of joy when word came late Thursday that the men had been found.

“When they called, the screaming was unbelievable,” Peggi Clayton said Friday. “It was a household of women letting loose.

“I don’t think I’ve been this excited since I gave birth to my first child. It’s the same kind of adrenaline.”

The two men hiked into the wilderness Aug. 9 from the Onion Valley Trailhead in the Inyo National Forest.

They were found near Mist Falls, near the South Fork of the Kings River, about 10 miles as the crow flies from where they were last seen Aug. 15.

Delbert Clayton said the two had attempted to travel cross-country over Gardiner Pass to Lake Charlotte, but lost the route.

Instead they ended up following creek drainage down to waterfalls, where steep cliffs prevented them from going farther.

Even though the two men are experienced back-country hikers, they became disoriented.

When they did not return home to Ventura on Sunday night as planned, Peggi Clayton became alarmed.

By Monday evening, foot searches had begun.

By Tuesday, helicopters were dispatched.

By the time Delbert Clayton was found, 70 people, one dog team and two helicopters had joined the effort. More than half a dozen agencies--including the Inyo National Forest Service, China Lakes Search and Rescue, Inyo County Search and Rescue and the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue--joined the effort.

The Clayton family sent its own entourage to Kings Canyon, which abuts Inyo National Forest. The Claytons’ other son, Evan, who is a Marine in Virginia, flew home and headed north with maps. So did cousins and in-laws.

By the time Delbert and Corey pulled into the driveway late Friday afternoon, more than a dozen friends and relatives had gathered for the homecoming.

They baked chocolate pies and broiled steak.

Corey Clayton arrived first, looking sunburned and tired.

His mother ran to him, threw her arms around him and started to cry. His girlfriend clung to his side. A friend gave him a six-pack of beer.

“I haven’t seen anyone but my dad since Saturday,” he said. “It’s good to see other people.”

Corey Clayton said he and his father knew they could hike out, but said he cannot remember being as happy as when he heard the searchers’ voices early Friday morning.

“I thought I was hearing things,” he said.

Delbert Clayton also said he never really panicked and was always certain they would make it, but that it was sobering to see how close helicopters and search parties can come without seeing their quarry.

The men built fires every night and waved red clothing at the copters that circled above them. They climbed rocks to try to make themselves more visible.

At one point Tuesday night, Delbert Clayton said, the helicopter was within about 200 feet of them.

“It was so frustrating that the helicopters couldn’t see us,” Corey Clayton said. “I thought they were looking for a dead man hanging from a rope.”

The elder Clayton said a hiker ultimately looked up and spotted him standing on a shelf of rock, waving a red flag. The rescuers came shortly afterward.

Delbert Clayton spoke highly of the park service and the search and rescue teams that worked from seven every morning until midnight.

Despite the adventure, Delbert Clayton feels no less enthusiastic about hiking the Sierra--something he has done every summer for the last 15 years.

“I’d go hiking again tomorrow,” he said.

His son was not so sure.

“I don’t know,” he said doubtfully. “But the main thing is to stay on the trail.”