Search crews rescued the two cousins from Mount Baldy in Los Angeles County early Saturday.
The 20-year-old and 13-year-old got lost while on a hike Friday.
The men said they had hoped to return before sunset but when the sun started going down, they tried to take a shortcut and got stuck in rocky terrain with their dogs.
"I felt scared because I thought I wasn't going to come out, and I was really cold. My legs were really numb and my fingers, and I felt really bad," Raul Gutierrez said.
The temperatures dropped below freezing Friday night.
Crews in a rescue helicopter spotted the two hikers last night, but because of poor flying conditions they couldn't get to them until Saturday.