A 57-year-old Anmore man spent a chilly evening outdoors on Monday after getting lost on the Diez Vistas trail.
The man had taken his dog for a walk and got confused when he reached the north end of the trail, said Coquitlam Search and Rescue spokesperson Michael Coyle.
"Even if you know your way around, when you get to the north end, it's a bit of a tangle-up there," Coyle said. "You start walking in the wrong direction - you're still heading north but you think you should be heading back down."
The man decided to turn around and go back the same way he'd come up but it quickly got dark and he couldn't see where he was going, Coyle said, noting Coquitlam RCMP contacted SAR at 8:30 p.m.
"The police said the man's son was out looking for him so we initially thought maybe we had two people to rescue but the son came back so that was a good move," Coyle said.
Coquitlam SAR first sent a team to one of the pump houses because of information the man had texted to his family earlier in the evening but when he wasn't found, several other teams fanned out to search various possible routes. A total of 23 volunteers were dispatched to the scene, with about 18 searchers in the field.
The man was located at midnight in the spot where police had earlier "pinged" his cell phone location. He was cold and huddling with his dog to stay warm but was able to hike out with SAR members, reaching the trail head at 1 a.m.
Coquitlam SAR is reminding the public to always bring the 10 essentials when going for a hike, even if it's on a well-known local trail.
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