HONOLULU --
A small group of hikers spent more than two hours stuck on a steep mountain ridge above the Pali Highway Tuesday afternoon.
Rescuers said a third hiker called 911 and firefighters had to hike up to rescue them from the steep, wet terrain.
They said that three hikers were stuck about 200 to 300 feet above the waterfall on the Kailua side of the Pali Tunnels. One of the hikers explained how they got stuck.
"[We] saw this trail and decided that we'd be kind of spontaneous and try to hike it, which did not end up being a good idea," said Dustin, one of the hikers.
Rescuers said that the bad weather had a lot to do with their getting stuck.
"It appears what they did is climbed up to a point where the conditions became so slippery that they could neither go up nor down, so they're stuck," said Terry Seelig, a HFD spokesman.
Dustin called 911 on his cell phone and was rescued first, while firefighters hiked up to rescue the other two.
"It was very windy, and there was probably 50 mph wind and a bunch of rain and it was really slippery," said Dustin.
Firefighters said they hooked the two Catholic missionaries into "rescue diapers" and slowly brought them down the mountain.
Dustin said that he and his two fellow hikers -- all of them in their 20s -- arrived here in August from Texas, Michigan and Kansas to serve as youth ministers for the archdiocese of Honolulu.
"I was praying, praying a lot. Trusting in the lord and working through the hands of the firefighters and their skills," said Dustin.
He said once they were all off the slippery slope, they embraced each other and thanked their rescuers. They said they were a bit scratched up and embarrassed, but unhurt -- and most importantly, they learned a lesson.
"Definitely know the trail before you try to hike it, and bring necessary things with you, like water and signaling devices like a mirror or a light to help rescue crews find you if you do happen to get in trouble," said Dustin.
Firefighters said they wanted to remind hikers to stay on trails and know their limits.
