Sad

I can not imagine what it would be like to be on a hiking trip and loose one of its members. But that is what happened to a group in the San Gabrial mountains in Southern California.

Nicole Flaten of Los Angeles was with members of her hiking club near Chantry Flat on Saturday when she apparently lost her footing. She fell into an ice chute at about 11:45 a.m., according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which investigated her death.

"Because she was in an ice chute, there was no way for her to stop the fall," said sheriff's Sgt. Bill Marsh.

Flaten fell about 1,000 feet from where her group had been hiking, "hitting trees and rocks" as she fell, Marsh said.

A member of her hiking club, risking great personal injury to himself, hiked down to Flaten to check on her condition, he said.

"He came back up and reported that she appeared to be dead," Marsh said.

My condolences to the family.