3 lost hikers rescued after night in North Vancouver backcountry

A North Shore Rescue crew is seen in a helicopter in this undated file photo. (North Shore Rescue/Facebook)

Search and rescue volunteers helped three hikers who were lost in North Vancouver’s backcountry Monday morning after an unexpected overnight stay in the mountains.

The group ended up stranded in the dark because they embarked on a lengthy trek in the afternoon, and did not heed park rangers’ advice to turn around, according to North Shore Rescue.

Search manager Paul Markey told CTV News the team was alerted around 9:30 p.m. Sunday that three brothers in their late 20s to early 30s were lost after hiking up Coliseum Mountain, above Lynn Headwaters Park.

Two of the hikers’ phones had died, and the third, used to call 911, had only 18 per cent battery left, Markey said.

After crews plotted the trio’s co-ordinates on a map, it was revealed the group had taken a wrong turn and was now at the top of Paton Peak overlooking the Seymour Valley. By that time it was dark outside, and the group didn’t have any light sources.

As the men were uninjured and the weather outlook was good, North Shore Rescue advised them to hunker down for the night and try and find the trail down in the morning. A nighttime helicopter rescue was deemed an unnecessary risk, Markey said.

Around 6 a.m. Monday, the hikers called Markey back and said they were having problems finding the trail, and then the phone died.

As communication had been cut off, and there are some steep cliffs in the area off the trail, the search manager decided to initiate rescue. A Talon helicopter flew to Paton Peak, while another team drove up the road to Seymour Dam.

The team in the truck came across the hikers walking down the road, and picked them up. The trio were tired after a night in the bush, but were otherwise unharmed, Markey said.

There are several takeaway lessons from the situation, he added.

Firstly, the group started hiking at 1 p.m., and Coliseum Peak is a 10- to 12-hour trek. “So if you're setting off at 1 p.m. on the 1st of September, you should know that you're not going to be able to get up and down,” Markey said.

Moreover, around 4 p.m., a group of park rangers told the hikers they should turn around as they wouldn’t have enough daylight to make it back.

“They decided to ignore that advice,” he said. The hikers continued upward, and reached the summit around 7:30 p.m.

“The park rangers are professionals, they’re out there every day and they know the trail more than anybody else,” he said. “If park rangers give you advice to turn around and you can't do the trail in the time that's left in the day, then that's good advice, and you should heed that advice, not ignore that.”

In addition, it’s crucial to have the proper gear. Markey said the hikers did the right thing by calling 911, but there’s no reception in Lynn Headwaters Park and the phones ended up dying anyway, so a satellite communicator is the best bet in the backcountry.

A navigational aid, like a paper map and compass, or a proper trail mapping app, is also essential. Markey said the group was using Google Maps.

“Google Maps is useless in the backcountry,” he said.

Headlamps and proper hiking boots were other items that would have made the experience better, he added.

“We had about 14 members out this morning, so that's, you know, 14 volunteers, one helicopter, one rescue jeep. So that could have been avoided quite easily,” Markey said. “We want people to go out, but just be prepared when they go out.”