A man talking on a cell phone walked off a cliff in the Mt. Whitney region Sunday, prompting an all-night Inyo County Search and Rescue team response.

The man was described as a 28 year old from Brea, CA. After reaching the summit of Whitney, the hiker had descended the mountain in the dark. He was in the switchbacks above Lone Pine Lake, when he was distracted by a cell phone call. The victim then apparently walked off the trail and fell 25 feet off a small cliff.

After midnight, Search and Rescue Volunteers with Inyo County and China Lake Mountain Rescue Group reached the man who complained of back pain and head injuries. The volunteers packed the hiker into a wheeled litter and carried him down the trail. Two and a half hours after starting down the trail with the victim, the carry-out team reached the trailhead at Whitney Portal.

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