The hiker, Joe Christaldi, has no injuries and was found at about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday; hours after crews began their search.

After he was rescued, Christaldi said he was stuck at an elevation of 4,000 to 5,000 feet in snow and icy conditions. He said three inches of snow prevented him from getting anywhere.

He described his experience, “Covered in snow, so you're slipping and falling. With the forest fire, there's ash on the ground, you don't realize it until you step in it and your footing goes.”

Rescuers said that Christaldi was prepared for the weather and equipped with a cell phone.

Searchers were able to contact Christaldi via his cell phone and he told them he was near a waterfall and a bridge. Crews had an idea where he was, asked him to stay there, and they hiked the six miles to him.

Christaldi had been hiking since Monday morning when he was dropped off at the Pete Lake trailhead by a friend. His plan was to hike to Pete Lake and then make a loop of surrounding lakes from that location, said his friend who dropped him off.

At about 5:30 Tuesday morning, Christaldi called his friend from up on a mountain where he had cell phone service and told her the weather was horrible, everything was icing up and he was having trouble getting down.

He said he would meet her at the Pete Lake trailhead at 8 p.m. Tuesday. She waited until 11:30 p.m., but Christaldi never showed up and she reported him overdue.

Crews launched a search and rescue mission Wednesday morning.

Chopper 7 over the scene showed a Kittitas County vehicle and several other trucks located at the Rachel Lake trailhead, where the teams were based.

Christaldi said he is a very experienced hiker and came from Pennsylvania just to hike the area.