On September 7, Lions Bay Search and Rescue was called for an overdue hiker travelling the Howe Sound Crest Trail from Cypress to Porteau Cove.
The hiker had started Saturday morning as part of a group of four. After camping together near the West Lions, the group separated the following morning. Three hikers decided they had enough and exited via Brunswick, while the fourth decided to continue north with another hiker he had met on the trail.
Our subject was equipped with a tent, sleeping bag, clothing and food, and his original group gave him a spare headlamp and battery pack before separating. He did not have his own map and was relying on his new hiking companion for navigation.
On Sunday evening, he messaged his roommate to say they were camped. He was expected to finish the traverse Monday afternoon and call for a pickup at Porteau Cove.
That call never came.
By Monday evening, worried friends, roommates and coworkers were trying to find him. Both hikers' phones went directly to voicemail, and there had been no communication confirming that he was safe.
They called 911.
They did the right thing.
Based on the information available, Search Managers determined that the missing hiker had enough overnight equipment and food that the situation could reasonably wait until daylight. On September 8th, LBSAR deployed ground teams from Porteau Cove and a helicopter team to search the northern HSCT.
At 8:54 a.m., the helicopter crew spotted the missing hiker near Brunswick Lake.
He was safe, uninjured and able to hike out on his own.
COMMS MATTER
There is an important lesson here that goes back to something we've written about before:
The Mountain Pact.
We walk together. We rise together. We turn back together. We come home together.
Create group norms and expectations before you leave. Discuss turn around scenarios, checkin norms, and communication.
Sometimes there are legitimate reasons to separate. If you do, however, the responsibility for communicating your new plan becomes even more important. Establish exactly where you're going, when you expect to be out, who you will contact and what they should do if they don't hear from you.
Then make the check-in.
Brunswick Lake and significant portions of the northern HSCT have little or no cellular coverage. Camping in a communication dead zone can mean that a simple delay suddenly looks like an emergency to the people waiting at home.
This is also where a satellite communicator such as an inReach can make an enormous difference. Cell coverage should never be your only communication plan on a remote traverse. A satellite device allows you to send a simple message — We're safe. We're delayed. New ETA tomorrow afternoon. That tiny bit of information can prevent an enormous amount of worry and may prevent an unnecessary SAR response. More importantly, if something actually has gone wrong, it gives you a way to call for help when your phone has no service.
In this case, the worried people at home did exactly what we want people to do. They knew the plan, recognized that the hiker was overdue and called for help.
SILVER LINING
This search also had an unusual silver lining.
While our helicopter team was at Brunswick Lake looking for one missing hiker, a camping couple approached the SAR crew and asked if we could assess another person who had suffered a significant facial injury the previous evening.
We hadn't been called for her. We didn't even know she was there.
Our team assessed her, a second SAR task was initiated, and she was flown out of the backcountry for further medical care.
So one helicopter arrived at Brunswick Lake looking for an overdue hiker who turned out to be completely fine — and left carrying an injured hiker we hadn't been looking for at all.
Sometimes SAR days work out in unexpected ways.
Make a trip plan. Stay together. Carry satellite communication. Communicate changes. Make your check-ins.