A stranded hiker was rescued Tuesday morning after spending a cold, wet night stuck on a cliff on the North Shore.

Michael Buckingham, a 37-year-old tourist visiting from the U.K., became lost on Crown Mountain Monday afternoon while trying to navigate his way around the trails using an app.

Fortunately, his cellphone signal was strong enough to call for help and for rescuers to determine his coordinates. Crews from North Shore Rescue and Lions Bay Search and Rescue managed to reach his location around midnight, but had no choice but to stay with him until the morning.

"He's on a ledge and only one rescuer was actually able to get down with him. The rest are camped out above," search manager Don Jardine told CTV News early Tuesday.

After sunup, a helicopter carried rescuers onto the cliff, where they hooked the hiker onto a longline and flew him off the mountain. Back on solid ground, Buckingham told reporters he wasn't sure how he ended up on the tiny ledge.

"I don't know how I got there. I didn't know how I was going to get off," Buckingham said. "Basically I just thought I was going to die for 15 hours."

Despite the happy ending, North Shore Rescue said the hiker's harrowing experience is a good reminder to be thoroughly prepared before braving the wilderness.

Search manager Simon Jackson said the stranded tourist headed out without a flashlight and with only a small amount of food and water.

"He has got a sweater and a waterproof jacket, but he's pretty soaked through already," Jackson said. "He doesn't have a proper navigation device, which is what led him to be lost in the first place." 

For a list of the essentials every hiker should have before heading onto the trails, visit the North Shore Rescue website. 

With files from CTV Vancouver's Sheila Scott