Coquitlam Search and Rescue volunteers were called out to two rescues over the August long weekend, plucking a missing hiker from the Dilly Dally trail and an injured hiker from Burke Mountain on Sunday.
Crews were called by Coquitlam RCMP late Saturday night to search for a missing 21-year-old Coquitlam man, Alec Winters, who had set off for a few days of hiking and camping in the Eagle Ridge area last Wednesday morning. His last known location was a set of co-ordinates he had relayed by phone to his family at 6:45 a.m. last Friday, July 29.
Sixteen SAR volunteers set off on the trail Saturday night, searching until just after daybreak. Winters was spotted by a helicopter at 7:45 a.m. Sunday in a rugged area on the east side of Eagle Ridge, stranded on a cliff and more than 600 m from the top of the ridge.
A longline team dropped rescue tech Nick Zupan down to the hiker, who was hungry and dehydrated but otherwise uninjured. He was extracted at about 9:40 a.m.
"We were told he'd left on Wednesday and he'd been planning to spend Thursday, Friday and come back Saturday," said Michael Coyle of Coquitlam SAR. "He had a large, multi-day backpack and various other camping equipment… so he was prepared for a trip of that length."
But the rugged, 25-km route can be a tricky one, Coyle said, particularly during a descent when the aim is to get down the mountain but not into a gully.
"When you're heading down the hill, you're trying to make sure you're heading down the slope…but not the slope that takes you down into the gully. They're a big navigational hazard in the backcountry."
Winters happened to end up on the east side of Eagle Ridge, which is in the Coquitlam watershed and has no cell service; it's also closed to hikers so it's unlikely a member of the public would have come across him and called for help on his behalf.
"Winters's adventure came to a happy conclusion because he had told a relative where he was going and his general route, and had left instructions for them to call search and rescue," a SAR release stated.
Crews were called to a second rescue later Sunday for an injured hiker on the Goat Trail on Burke Mountain. Coyle said the trail leads off from Quarry Road and, while not as steep, is similar in elevation gain to the Grouse Grind.
"It's really rocky and twisty, lots of switchbacks," Coyle said.
Coquitlam Fire Rescue were initially called in but carrying the woman, who had broken her ankle, down on a stretcher would have taken too long, so they brought in Coquitlam SAR for a longline rescue using a helicopter.
She was flown to the Coquitlam Town Centre fire hall and unloaded by firefighters, then taken to hospital by BC Ambulance paramedics.
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