Video: 3 hikers stranded on Three Fingers Mountain

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GRANITE FALLS, Wash. - Three teens got stranded overnight on Three Fingers Mountain Tuesday when they ran into bad weather.

One of three teens was able to hike down Wednesday afternoon, but his two companions - who suffered from mild hypothermia and exhaustion - remained on the mountain until they could be airlifted.

One 17-year-old made his way to the rescue command center Wednesday afternoon, but the other two boys - 16-year-old Van McKeon and 17-year-old Shayne Helm - hunkered down with rescuers who brought them food and warmed them up.

Snow, rain and fog socked in the mountain for most of Wednesday and the two teens were too weak to come down on their own. It was impossible for a rescue helicopter to get to them until the weather cleared Wednesday evening. They were airlifted to Granite Falls.

Van McKeon says he fell and injured his back looking for a campsite.

Shayne Helm says a 911 dispatcher calmed him down and likely helped save their lives.

The three teens had set out Tuesday morning for the peak of Three Fingers Mountain, which has an elevation of 6,854 feet. They had planned to spend the night at the lookout on top of the mountain, but were unprepared for the snow, fog, rain and cold they encountered.

They called for help by cell phone around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday near the summit.

The teens hunkered down with blankets and sleeping bags between two boulders overnight while rescuers traveled on a remote 17-mile forest service road, then hiked another 7 rugged miles to reach the teens. They were found Wednesday morning around the 5,500-foot level of the mountain.

The three hikers are from the Arlington and Marysville areas. All of them are sending a big thank you to their rescuers and a message to others who might make the same mistake.

"Don't go up if you're not prepared. The Search and Rescue teams are absolutely wonderful, but we'd like to keep them unemployed getting our kids off the mountain," said Heidi McKeon, Van's mother.

The kids admit they were really unprepared and ill-equipped for this hike.

Van's mother said they will have a family discussion at home about the lessons learned today.