A rescue team from the Honolulu Fire Department hiked more than two hours in complete darkness on Wa'ahila Ridge trail above St. Louis Heights before finding a family of lost hikers late last night.

It took another 4.5 hours for the team to navigate their way back to safety. What started as a 2 p.m. hike for the Kalihi family — a 21-year-old man, his 21-year-old wife who is six months pregnant and their 5-year-old son — turned into a 14-hour tale of survival.

Captain Keoni Kino, who led the Honolulu Fire Department's rescue team, said the family had gotten dropped off at the top of Wa'ahila Ridge and planned to hike to their car that was parked down at Paradise Park in Manoa.

Typically, it's a hike that can be made in less than two hours, Kino said.

"They had a good plan but they took a wrong turn and kept going," Kino said. "They thought they were on the Manoa side and kept going up the ridge. Fortunately they had a cell phone and flashlight with them. They said they'd never been on the trail before and got lost."

The fire department received the call of hikers in distress at 7:20 p.m.

Kino said the father did a good job of keeping in contact with his cell phone, turning it off at times to conserve energy. By the time the rescue team stumbled upon the family, it was 11:40 p.m. and they had hiked more than two hours in complete darkness. It was also wet, he said, because after the first 90 minutes of hiking they found themselves in the clouds, which made the trail more slippery.

"When we got close we were shouting and making noise so they could hear us and they were yelling back," a member of the rescue team said, "but it was so dark we didn't see them until about (20 feet). They were cold and wet. I think they just said, 'Thank you for coming.' They were happy to see us."

Kino said the rescue team fed the hikers and gave them warm clothes before starting back down the trail.

"We gave them sandwiches and plenty of water to keep them hydrated," Kino said.

The team made several rest stops along the way and also took turns carrying the boy about half of the time. Typically, a helicopter is often used in searches for hikers, but Kino said the cloud cover wouldn't allow it last night.

All made it back to safety shortly before 4 a.m., a little tired but with no injuries.

All told, Kino estimates the family hiked about six miles in the dense forest, ascending high into the cloud cover.

"They had good intentions for a hike that could have been about an hour and a half," Kino said. "It's just a case where they didn't have the proper mapping and couldn't find their way back once they missed the turn."