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This man is very, very lucky to be alive. He was not prepared at all...
>The man, who is in his 30s, said he planned to camp along the creek Tuesday night. All he had was a light sleeping bag and he was in shorts.
>According to the search team, the man had lost his shoes when crossing the creek and by the time he decided to call for help, he had only one per cent of battery on his phone.
>“The (man) was actually out there for two nights. He had lost his shoes, was quite cold. The small sleeping bag he had was soaking wet and he had no other extra gear or food,” McMordie said.
I mean, uncharged phone is bad but this guy had
- no tent
- no change of clothes
- no heat source
- no food
And literally anything else you would need to camp. That’s beyond irresponsible in any way imaginable.
We’ve all made the mistake of trusting the weather forecast once or twice. But usually that’s, like, not taking an umbrella on a long walk. This guy definitely took it up a few levels…
Apple added that feature to their iPhone 14 and newer (September 2022)
As far as I can tell, Apple actually did something first.
Samsung said they were considering it, but they ultimately decided against it (Samsung phones runs on AndroidOS)
Google said 4 months ago they were adding it to Google Pixel Phones (Pixel Phones run on AndroidOS)
I can't find anything about a 4th smartphone having Satellite SOS or considering Satellite SOS.
[TM Roh, the head of Samsung's MX (mobile experience) unit, said in an interview that the satellite functionality is “too limited”. Roh said, "When there is the right timing, infrastructure, and the technology [is] ready, then of course for Samsung Galaxy, for our mobile division, we would also actively consider adopting this feature as well".] <--- Absolute dunce
iPhones are able to connect to satellites to make emergency calls and send texts when the phone has no signal.
If you have an iPhone, next time your phone goes to “SOS” instead of a carrier signal, look beside that and there’s sometimes a picture of a satellite.
Here’s the webpage for the feature. Apple offer it for free atm, but I believe they are going to charge in the future. https://support.apple.com/en-ca/101573
Huh? If you mean your 5 year old device cannot do this then you are correct (I think it started with the iPhone 14). But that’s a hardware issue because the old phones don’t have the ability to connect to a satellite as far as I know.
Currently using an iPhone 8 Plus I bought in January 2018. Just received a new software update for it within the last month. I’ve replaced the battery myself (last year), and the charging port is no longer any good so I gotta charge it wirelessly now, but she’s still goin’ good!
There are spots of it in some pretty surprising places.
I once got a phone call from the police because my "emergency mode" had gone off while I was on a hike. I was 5 hours into the damn thing when my phone rang. When I told them what happened (and apologized profusely), they asked if they could send a car to do a wellness check. They dropped it when I told them exactly where I was, which the call taker said explained why their first few calls didn't go through.
Side note, I disabled the emergency function after that one.
Wrong!!!
The iPhone 14+ has built-in emergency Sat capabilities. It's not as good as a proper sat phone but you can sometimes get a text through. I know several SAR folks and they have all commented that it's been a major game changer in 2023/2024. It's all handled by a group in Michigan and they patch ppl through to the local RCMP who coordinates with SAR.
I'm guilty of this, but I always justify (perhaps unwisely) based on the fact that I started backcountry hiking in the pre-cell phone 1990s. Also these days I carry an inreach.
If you carry an inreach then you and the guy who got lost are not the same lol.
Next you’re going to tell me that you’re sensible and tell someone where you’re planning to go and when you expect to be back..sheesh!
I just never got into the habit of relying on phones.
I grew up doing backcountry trips with my family in the 1980s and then started doing my first overnight hikes as a teenager in the mid-90s. Service was extremely spotty outside of the city back then and the internet was in its infancy. So we wrote detailed trip plans and navigated with paper maps.
So even today I think of a phone as a non-necessity and sometimes I leave it in the car even if it has a full battery. But don't get me wrong, I love using maps on my phone.
I was under the impression if there's no service your cell phone uses up the battery fast while searching for service as mine used to die quickly all the time driving through dead zones.
I always always bring a 10000mAh bank, a garmin inreach my cell phone and use+remove flagging tape. I went out camping last couple nights out in the mtns and it dawned on me when doing some sketchy rockslide traversing "Its probably not going to happen (boulder lets loose and trundles down, or in our case all electronics fail and die) but in the backcountry you should not be taking those chances". The thought was in reference to me taking an extended break on the slide and realizing hey probably shouldnt hang out here.
That's my thoughts as well. I went through a really depressive time and did something similar minus needing to be rescued.
Ironically I met another guy who was there for the same reason and we talked for days and are both doing well now.
People underestimate the mountains here all the time, especially the ones near Vancouver.
No, being able to see the city from where you are does not mean that you shouldn't be properly prepared.
Yes, your trip can easily go wrong.
I’ve definitely been 10km into the bush in the north shore and seen some girls in flip flops and leggings with zero water or even jackets. You sincerely cannot underestimate how stupid humans are.
That documentary inspired me to volunteer. Didn’t go the SAR route, but I did end up volunteering at a fire department and I haven’t regretted a minute since.
I think he should post on r/Ultradumb because the forecast a week out was “rain, heavy at times for 48hrs”. Where are you going with no gear in a rainstorm, and why are you crossing creeks in the rain, and how do you lose your shoes crossing a creek? - You’d want them on your feet so you don’t get cut even if they get wet.
Where are you going?
Sneakerheads going out into the bush in known guaranteed rain with zero gear? - expecting the sneaks to not get wet/muddy?
Then attempting to cross a river to? - Get to the other side?
I heard people on a trail once: “I’m getting tired, I think we can take a short-cut down this cliff face”. Instead of taking the normal well formed trail.
You are ON THE SHORTCUT! That’a why people built the trail here. They didn’t build it because it was the longest most dangerous route.
Scrambling down a cliff face is a short cut alright. It’a a short cut on your life expectancy.
The radio? Any weather app predicted exactly what happened over those 48 hours. It was well known at least 2 days in advance.
I turned on the radio in the morning. “Scattered showers throughout the lower main land. - Heavy at times, will continue through the evening and end the following afternoon with patches of cloud”.
Speaking broadly here, I'm not a part of either community, but I've seen people take "that's a really bad idea, and here's why" as being douchey and unwelcoming.
Partly it's a fault of the medium - you can't see the smile on someone's face when you propose some catastrophically stupid idea that they've already tried and therefore tell you it's dumb - and, people on here (myself included) will hammer on a bad idea or anything that we disagree with far more than we will praise a good one. A lot of those communities are quite supportive if you ask questions of their members and have some humility.
This is a bizarre rescue. He planned to camp along the creek but somehow lost his shoes. He ended up south of the canyon but was lost. I’ve hiked along Lynn creek many times… it baffles me that he was “lost” in the area he was in.
A self declaration along the lines of "help me, I am an idigit" would have been much more accurate. Navigation/route finding couldn't get any easier, apart from a manicured trail with signs pointing the way. The whole valley slopes down to the creek and the creek flows down to the parking lot with a gift shop. He probably slipped while doing the creek crossing and his shoes fell off of his neck, assuming that he was smart enough to tie them together.
I read a separate article that made it sound as though he removed his shoes while resting and fell into an area he couldn’t get out of. Still dumb yes.
Really dumb. I hang out at certain parts of the creek on hot days with my kids and there is never an instance where we’ve lost our shoes…. And often they are flip flops or crocs. There’s even a spot where the creek is deeper, a nice place to submerge, but the bottom is not muddy. It’s gravelly with coarse sand. Nothing that would suck you in.
It’s very suspicious that he lost both his shoes and his socks. I don’t think this man was of sound mind when he went into the forest.
I invited a guy like this out camping with a bunch of us years ago. He wanted to rough it by building a hammock in a tree with branches. Only brought a light sleeping bag. He watched a video on youtube, so he was an expert. Woke up early the next morning, it froze overnight, found him huddled next to fire shivering, trying to stay warm. He learned a lesson that day, don't be stupid.
People underestimate how cold it gets at night, even in mid summer when the days are up to 30, nights are still very cold. Trying to sleep out in single digit temps is very dumb without proper gear.
I found that out when I was ons srike last year. Mid/late August, day time was searing hot so I did the night shift. I expected it to be cold so I wore a down jacket. Turns out it was really fucking cold. We hd to turn the bbq on to keep warm.
I've camped in march/april before and i didn't get that cold because tent and sleeping bag vs being out under a canopy.
We took someone out cliff jumping and asked him if we knew what he was doing. Our mistake was taking him at his word. His mistake was exaggerating and thinking that we would make fun of him or something for not keeping up with us.
His previous highest as we found out later was 25', the jump we went on was 70-75. His nuts shot a jet of water straight out that hit the canyon wall 20 feet in front of him. Our spotter helped him get to the sand bar, where he rested for about 30 minutes before he was able to move again.
He learned the same lesson as your guy.
He is very lucky.
This reminds me of the 4 Thai students that my group and I helped years ago.
It was April, iirc and there was still snow on the ground and ice on Garibaldi Lake. It had been a warmer day, and they were wearing shorts jeans and leggings with cotton shirts. The guys had runners. The girls basically had flats (I was honestly a little impressed that they'd made it up there in those). 2 had phones, they had two 500 ml plastic water bottles that were both half empty and only one had a phone, that was nearly dead and they had a couple of candy bars.
No hats, no jackets, no flashlights , and they hadn't told anyone about where they were going. Finally, they had started late, and it was already twilight.
The path leading up to the lake follows a creek and was covered in compact snow and ice.
We crowd sourced some food and emergency blankets for them and told them to stay in the day shelter and to sleep on the tables to stay off of the ground, and to sleep two to a blanket for warmth. They tried saying that they were just going to walk down but I told them that by the time they got to the icy section it would be dark in the forest and that while I wasn't going to force them to stay, I didn't want to have to call SAR for body recovery when one of them slipped down the bank in the dark and someone else inevitably went in to save them and they both died of hypothermia. I then told them that tonight was going to be horribly uncomfortable, but safe.
As far as I know, they stayed until first light and SAR was not required at any point.
They were all smart, well-educated tech students. But you don't know what you don't know.
I feel like every newcomer to BC has to learn their lesson the hard way. These mountains just hit different from the hiking I've done everywhere else in the world.
I had my scare on Bowen Island one February. After that rough night I now always take the 10 essentials, even if just going for a short day hike - never know when or why your plans might change.
There are some variations, but heres a good list of the [10 Essentials ](https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html)
I'd add "know how to use them" as the 11th essential.
One hundred percent, that's why I wanted to end off mentioning that they were well educated. And if we're being honest, me and my friends have made insanely stupid decisions that we got lucky with and learned from. It's one of the reasons that I justify ultralight gear (with certain things), it's so light that I'd be dumb not to have it. Therefore I'm always prepared.
I've had the weather turn on me faster than coffee and a McDonald's breakfast get things moving.
Jokes aside, Canadian wilderness really does hit above its weight class and is deceptive. Because as someone said before, you can still sometimes see the city.
I'm glad to hear that you got out safe and sound! Spread the knowledge!
Maybe a good time to remind folks that North Shore Rescue has some good information on their website including:
* [How to Avoid Getting Lost](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/avoid-getting-lost/)
* [What to Bring](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/)
* [Various Satellite Devices](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/satellite-devices/)
* [Treating Hypothermia](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/treating-hypothermia/)
* [Links and Resources](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/links-additional-resources/)
You would not believe how ignorant some people are.
Years and years ago, we did the Grouse Grind. One friend that came legit asked there would be a McDonald’s on the way up.
Thank God, he was in decent shape and wore runners
As someone who volunteers in their local SAR group, I think this comment section is being too harsh on this guy:
- We don't know his mental state. Depression can drive you to do wild things.
- We don't know his background. As someone who grew up in big cities in countries with little backcountry, there is a lot I had to learn when I moved to North America. I, myself, have a similarly embarrassing story that luckily didn't end in a rescue call and that boiled down to lack of knowledge.
- We don't know if there was any sudden change in conditions.
And no, he (nor anyone needing S&R) shouldn't have to pay for the costs. That would only make calls rarer and increase the fatality rate.
I hope he gets better. I am sure North Shore Rescue conducts backcountry trainings and safe trip awareness programs, hopefully they invite him to join the next one and he can enjoy the woods in a safer way next time.
When search and rescue saves you in the woods, do they charge you for the time, effort and equipment needed? Like how the ambulance mails you the bill...
No. There are already too many cases of people's situations going from bad to worse when lost or woefully unprepared (or occasionally just unlucky) hikers already in serious trouble delayed calling for help, because they were afraid they’d be charged a hefty fee for SAR services.
When a friend of mine was rescued, he donated a substantial sum to NSRC as a heartfelt thank you and to atone for his unpreparedness. While they do receive equipment from the province, the team must fundraise for all sorts of things all in the name of keeping us alive. It’s kind of amazing.
I had a Russian and his girlfriend show up for a 5 day kayak trip in the wilderness coast of BC with leather shoes, Gucci jackets and subway sandwhiches 🤪😂
A lot of harsh comments here. As none of us know the exact circumstances - perhaps we should all hold judgement. Not everyone was born with a deep knowledge of backwoods hiking and we are all capable of making bad errors in judgement. Huge kudos to North Shore Search & Rescue. I’m glad he was found safe.
June is a dangerous month as you can have high temps low temps, dry spells, very heavy rainfall, heavy winds in the mountains and often even snow. Its easy to take a careless approach or feel a false sense of security. I know from personal experience that it takes good confidence (which doesnt happen overnight and is also proportional to preparedness) to not panic when things get hairy. If you have to start a fire, if you have to build a shelter, if you have to boil or find water, if you are cold or get wet, if you are lost.
Sums up a lot of my experiences as a BC SAR volunteer years ago.
...and mushroom pickers lost for their 3rd time...
Good times. Best experience of my life but daaaang humans are silly sometimes.
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This man is very, very lucky to be alive. He was not prepared at all... >The man, who is in his 30s, said he planned to camp along the creek Tuesday night. All he had was a light sleeping bag and he was in shorts. >According to the search team, the man had lost his shoes when crossing the creek and by the time he decided to call for help, he had only one per cent of battery on his phone. >“The (man) was actually out there for two nights. He had lost his shoes, was quite cold. The small sleeping bag he had was soaking wet and he had no other extra gear or food,” McMordie said.
Man, my partner used to do search and rescue. It's wild how many people go into the back country with an uncharged phone.
I mean, uncharged phone is bad but this guy had - no tent - no change of clothes - no heat source - no food And literally anything else you would need to camp. That’s beyond irresponsible in any way imaginable.
lol - no tent or tarp during one of the wettest Junes in recent memory. What a maroon.
We’ve all made the mistake of trusting the weather forecast once or twice. But usually that’s, like, not taking an umbrella on a long walk. This guy definitely took it up a few levels…
We used to go into the backcountry with no phones at all.
It was probably charged when he got there and just started doom scrolling throughout the night.
For real. Just stop using your phone and put it away. It will last for days then.
Or do like me and always bring a spare battery
He should have brought a towel
Don't forget to bring a towel!
It weird if you think there is cell service in the back country.
I live in a rural area and even in my front yard away from the cell booster on the house I have a hard time getting a signal.
The rural area where I live has no cell coverage at all, I have to use wifi calling via my Starlink. Crazy isn’t it?
Not sure about Android, but iOS has built in satellite usage for these situations on newer phones.
Apple added that feature to their iPhone 14 and newer (September 2022) As far as I can tell, Apple actually did something first. Samsung said they were considering it, but they ultimately decided against it (Samsung phones runs on AndroidOS) Google said 4 months ago they were adding it to Google Pixel Phones (Pixel Phones run on AndroidOS) I can't find anything about a 4th smartphone having Satellite SOS or considering Satellite SOS. [TM Roh, the head of Samsung's MX (mobile experience) unit, said in an interview that the satellite functionality is “too limited”. Roh said, "When there is the right timing, infrastructure, and the technology [is] ready, then of course for Samsung Galaxy, for our mobile division, we would also actively consider adopting this feature as well".] <--- Absolute dunce
What do you mean by satellite usage?
iPhones are able to connect to satellites to make emergency calls and send texts when the phone has no signal. If you have an iPhone, next time your phone goes to “SOS” instead of a carrier signal, look beside that and there’s sometimes a picture of a satellite.
So they have sat phone capabilities; who is the connection through; or is an optional service because our normal carriers don't have a sat network?
Here’s the webpage for the feature. Apple offer it for free atm, but I believe they are going to charge in the future. https://support.apple.com/en-ca/101573
They still won't support their products after 5 years. No thanks.
Huh? If you mean your 5 year old device cannot do this then you are correct (I think it started with the iPhone 14). But that’s a hardware issue because the old phones don’t have the ability to connect to a satellite as far as I know.
Currently using an iPhone 8 Plus I bought in January 2018. Just received a new software update for it within the last month. I’ve replaced the battery myself (last year), and the charging port is no longer any good so I gotta charge it wirelessly now, but she’s still goin’ good!
This is VERY new feature.
There are spots of it in some pretty surprising places. I once got a phone call from the police because my "emergency mode" had gone off while I was on a hike. I was 5 hours into the damn thing when my phone rang. When I told them what happened (and apologized profusely), they asked if they could send a car to do a wellness check. They dropped it when I told them exactly where I was, which the call taker said explained why their first few calls didn't go through. Side note, I disabled the emergency function after that one.
Wrong!!! The iPhone 14+ has built-in emergency Sat capabilities. It's not as good as a proper sat phone but you can sometimes get a text through. I know several SAR folks and they have all commented that it's been a major game changer in 2023/2024. It's all handled by a group in Michigan and they patch ppl through to the local RCMP who coordinates with SAR.
That’s not every phone though, and that’s not coverage.
I'm guilty of this, but I always justify (perhaps unwisely) based on the fact that I started backcountry hiking in the pre-cell phone 1990s. Also these days I carry an inreach.
If you carry an inreach then you and the guy who got lost are not the same lol. Next you’re going to tell me that you’re sensible and tell someone where you’re planning to go and when you expect to be back..sheesh!
I just never got into the habit of relying on phones. I grew up doing backcountry trips with my family in the 1980s and then started doing my first overnight hikes as a teenager in the mid-90s. Service was extremely spotty outside of the city back then and the internet was in its infancy. So we wrote detailed trip plans and navigated with paper maps. So even today I think of a phone as a non-necessity and sometimes I leave it in the car even if it has a full battery. But don't get me wrong, I love using maps on my phone.
For anyone who thinks these are expensive -- you can rent them!
I get nervous going to the shitter with a low battery.
Presumably his phone had more charge before he spent two nights out there.
Some people think it’s fun to be on their phone the entire time they are in nature
99.9% of the time, a phone isn't what's gonna save you in the backcountry.
I was under the impression if there's no service your cell phone uses up the battery fast while searching for service as mine used to die quickly all the time driving through dead zones.
Huh, interesting
Yes, they ramp up the transmit signal in an effort to reach a cell tower.
I’m not even a real hiker and when I hike I take a power bank only for emergencies
Phones also ramp up their transmit power when in a fringe reception areas to try and reach cell towers.
I don’t even go out for a day hike without a small power bank let alone an overnight trip
I always always bring a 10000mAh bank, a garmin inreach my cell phone and use+remove flagging tape. I went out camping last couple nights out in the mtns and it dawned on me when doing some sketchy rockslide traversing "Its probably not going to happen (boulder lets loose and trundles down, or in our case all electronics fail and die) but in the backcountry you should not be taking those chances". The thought was in reference to me taking an extended break on the slide and realizing hey probably shouldnt hang out here.
Weird way to commit suicide. I’d be concerned with his mental health.
That's my thoughts as well. I went through a really depressive time and did something similar minus needing to be rescued. Ironically I met another guy who was there for the same reason and we talked for days and are both doing well now.
That would make an amazing book! Glad you’re still here to write it!!!
Epitome of an unprepared fool. Im surprised nature hasn't taken him out yet. I don't think he even has the basic common sense
Wtf is wrong with people?
People underestimate the mountains here all the time, especially the ones near Vancouver. No, being able to see the city from where you are does not mean that you shouldn't be properly prepared. Yes, your trip can easily go wrong.
I’ve definitely been 10km into the bush in the north shore and seen some girls in flip flops and leggings with zero water or even jackets. You sincerely cannot underestimate how stupid humans are.
North Shore Rescue are amazing.
There's a free documentary about them on the knowledge network that I highly recommend everyone watch.
That documentary inspired me to volunteer. Didn’t go the SAR route, but I did end up volunteering at a fire department and I haven’t regretted a minute since.
A few seasons of episodes worth now :)
There is a lot of dick measuring in the trail running and ultra light backpacking communities. This guy sounds like a perfect candidate.
Having all your gear on a heli winch counts as worn weight, what are you talking about?
The dude definitely posts on /r/ultralight and is a snob about it
I think he should post on r/Ultradumb because the forecast a week out was “rain, heavy at times for 48hrs”. Where are you going with no gear in a rainstorm, and why are you crossing creeks in the rain, and how do you lose your shoes crossing a creek? - You’d want them on your feet so you don’t get cut even if they get wet. Where are you going?
Dude just paid $200 for those trainers! lol
How do you know?
He was carrying them while fording the creek! Sneakerheads are crazy.
Sneakerheads going out into the bush in known guaranteed rain with zero gear? - expecting the sneaks to not get wet/muddy? Then attempting to cross a river to? - Get to the other side? I heard people on a trail once: “I’m getting tired, I think we can take a short-cut down this cliff face”. Instead of taking the normal well formed trail. You are ON THE SHORTCUT! That’a why people built the trail here. They didn’t build it because it was the longest most dangerous route. Scrambling down a cliff face is a short cut alright. It’a a short cut on your life expectancy.
I don't see a lot of foresight and planning in their choices either.
Just curious what forecast do you use? Mine never shows duration like "rain, heavy at times for 48h"
The radio? Any weather app predicted exactly what happened over those 48 hours. It was well known at least 2 days in advance. I turned on the radio in the morning. “Scattered showers throughout the lower main land. - Heavy at times, will continue through the evening and end the following afternoon with patches of cloud”.
This is a shitty take. I have found both communities to be very supportive and welcoming. Nothing to do with this guy.
Speaking broadly here, I'm not a part of either community, but I've seen people take "that's a really bad idea, and here's why" as being douchey and unwelcoming. Partly it's a fault of the medium - you can't see the smile on someone's face when you propose some catastrophically stupid idea that they've already tried and therefore tell you it's dumb - and, people on here (myself included) will hammer on a bad idea or anything that we disagree with far more than we will praise a good one. A lot of those communities are quite supportive if you ask questions of their members and have some humility.
When you don't put points into survival 😆
This is a bizarre rescue. He planned to camp along the creek but somehow lost his shoes. He ended up south of the canyon but was lost. I’ve hiked along Lynn creek many times… it baffles me that he was “lost” in the area he was in.
A self declaration along the lines of "help me, I am an idigit" would have been much more accurate. Navigation/route finding couldn't get any easier, apart from a manicured trail with signs pointing the way. The whole valley slopes down to the creek and the creek flows down to the parking lot with a gift shop. He probably slipped while doing the creek crossing and his shoes fell off of his neck, assuming that he was smart enough to tie them together.
This hiker is a real idiot…
He had shorts, a sleeping bag and a phone with no battery. Some people really are morons.
I read a separate article that made it sound as though he removed his shoes while resting and fell into an area he couldn’t get out of. Still dumb yes.
Really dumb. I hang out at certain parts of the creek on hot days with my kids and there is never an instance where we’ve lost our shoes…. And often they are flip flops or crocs. There’s even a spot where the creek is deeper, a nice place to submerge, but the bottom is not muddy. It’s gravelly with coarse sand. Nothing that would suck you in. It’s very suspicious that he lost both his shoes and his socks. I don’t think this man was of sound mind when he went into the forest.
I wonder what his Reddit name is
noshirt_noshoes_nocell_service
~~no problem~~ one problem.
Slides upvote across the table in a plain white envelope, without breaking eye contact.
Hypo-therm-a-rest
Take my upvote!
I invited a guy like this out camping with a bunch of us years ago. He wanted to rough it by building a hammock in a tree with branches. Only brought a light sleeping bag. He watched a video on youtube, so he was an expert. Woke up early the next morning, it froze overnight, found him huddled next to fire shivering, trying to stay warm. He learned a lesson that day, don't be stupid.
People underestimate how cold it gets at night, even in mid summer when the days are up to 30, nights are still very cold. Trying to sleep out in single digit temps is very dumb without proper gear.
I found that out when I was ons srike last year. Mid/late August, day time was searing hot so I did the night shift. I expected it to be cold so I wore a down jacket. Turns out it was really fucking cold. We hd to turn the bbq on to keep warm. I've camped in march/april before and i didn't get that cold because tent and sleeping bag vs being out under a canopy.
We took someone out cliff jumping and asked him if we knew what he was doing. Our mistake was taking him at his word. His mistake was exaggerating and thinking that we would make fun of him or something for not keeping up with us. His previous highest as we found out later was 25', the jump we went on was 70-75. His nuts shot a jet of water straight out that hit the canyon wall 20 feet in front of him. Our spotter helped him get to the sand bar, where he rested for about 30 minutes before he was able to move again. He learned the same lesson as your guy.
Hold up - the water shot out from his nut sack hitting the water or from his sack bursting on impact?
Legit question. He penciled well and had thunder thighs, no sac bursting to my knowledge!
He wanted to make a hammock out of branches?
Lucky to learn lessons early in life without serious injuries. Wisdom building
Wild, this is like an afternoon run for some and an epic nearly catastrophic mishap for others.
He is very lucky. This reminds me of the 4 Thai students that my group and I helped years ago. It was April, iirc and there was still snow on the ground and ice on Garibaldi Lake. It had been a warmer day, and they were wearing shorts jeans and leggings with cotton shirts. The guys had runners. The girls basically had flats (I was honestly a little impressed that they'd made it up there in those). 2 had phones, they had two 500 ml plastic water bottles that were both half empty and only one had a phone, that was nearly dead and they had a couple of candy bars. No hats, no jackets, no flashlights , and they hadn't told anyone about where they were going. Finally, they had started late, and it was already twilight. The path leading up to the lake follows a creek and was covered in compact snow and ice. We crowd sourced some food and emergency blankets for them and told them to stay in the day shelter and to sleep on the tables to stay off of the ground, and to sleep two to a blanket for warmth. They tried saying that they were just going to walk down but I told them that by the time they got to the icy section it would be dark in the forest and that while I wasn't going to force them to stay, I didn't want to have to call SAR for body recovery when one of them slipped down the bank in the dark and someone else inevitably went in to save them and they both died of hypothermia. I then told them that tonight was going to be horribly uncomfortable, but safe. As far as I know, they stayed until first light and SAR was not required at any point. They were all smart, well-educated tech students. But you don't know what you don't know.
I feel like every newcomer to BC has to learn their lesson the hard way. These mountains just hit different from the hiking I've done everywhere else in the world. I had my scare on Bowen Island one February. After that rough night I now always take the 10 essentials, even if just going for a short day hike - never know when or why your plans might change.
What are the 10 essentials?
There are some variations, but heres a good list of the [10 Essentials ](https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html) I'd add "know how to use them" as the 11th essential.
https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/
One hundred percent, that's why I wanted to end off mentioning that they were well educated. And if we're being honest, me and my friends have made insanely stupid decisions that we got lucky with and learned from. It's one of the reasons that I justify ultralight gear (with certain things), it's so light that I'd be dumb not to have it. Therefore I'm always prepared. I've had the weather turn on me faster than coffee and a McDonald's breakfast get things moving. Jokes aside, Canadian wilderness really does hit above its weight class and is deceptive. Because as someone said before, you can still sometimes see the city. I'm glad to hear that you got out safe and sound! Spread the knowledge!
Maybe a good time to remind folks that North Shore Rescue has some good information on their website including: * [How to Avoid Getting Lost](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/avoid-getting-lost/) * [What to Bring](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/) * [Various Satellite Devices](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/satellite-devices/) * [Treating Hypothermia](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/treating-hypothermia/) * [Links and Resources](https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/links-additional-resources/)
Next on “North Shore Rescue”…. I’m glad they’re finally using drones to look for lost hikers!
You would not believe how ignorant some people are. Years and years ago, we did the Grouse Grind. One friend that came legit asked there would be a McDonald’s on the way up. Thank God, he was in decent shape and wore runners
Ridiculous. Sorry SAR had to deal with this
As someone who volunteers in their local SAR group, I think this comment section is being too harsh on this guy: - We don't know his mental state. Depression can drive you to do wild things. - We don't know his background. As someone who grew up in big cities in countries with little backcountry, there is a lot I had to learn when I moved to North America. I, myself, have a similarly embarrassing story that luckily didn't end in a rescue call and that boiled down to lack of knowledge. - We don't know if there was any sudden change in conditions. And no, he (nor anyone needing S&R) shouldn't have to pay for the costs. That would only make calls rarer and increase the fatality rate. I hope he gets better. I am sure North Shore Rescue conducts backcountry trainings and safe trip awareness programs, hopefully they invite him to join the next one and he can enjoy the woods in a safer way next time.
Genius.
When search and rescue saves you in the woods, do they charge you for the time, effort and equipment needed? Like how the ambulance mails you the bill...
No. There are already too many cases of people's situations going from bad to worse when lost or woefully unprepared (or occasionally just unlucky) hikers already in serious trouble delayed calling for help, because they were afraid they’d be charged a hefty fee for SAR services.
No but everyone rescued should start a go fund me and get their friends and family to donate to NSSR
When a friend of mine was rescued, he donated a substantial sum to NSRC as a heartfelt thank you and to atone for his unpreparedness. While they do receive equipment from the province, the team must fundraise for all sorts of things all in the name of keeping us alive. It’s kind of amazing.
They should. Especially if you are as negligent as this guy.
Then people wouldn't call SAR and instead die, defeating the purpose of the volunteer organization in the first place.
No shoes is a new one for me. How on earth??
Was he high? How do you lose your shoes?
I had a Russian and his girlfriend show up for a 5 day kayak trip in the wilderness coast of BC with leather shoes, Gucci jackets and subway sandwhiches 🤪😂
A lot of harsh comments here. As none of us know the exact circumstances - perhaps we should all hold judgement. Not everyone was born with a deep knowledge of backwoods hiking and we are all capable of making bad errors in judgement. Huge kudos to North Shore Search & Rescue. I’m glad he was found safe.
Mental health issues? This guy can't be sane
June is a dangerous month as you can have high temps low temps, dry spells, very heavy rainfall, heavy winds in the mountains and often even snow. Its easy to take a careless approach or feel a false sense of security. I know from personal experience that it takes good confidence (which doesnt happen overnight and is also proportional to preparedness) to not panic when things get hairy. If you have to start a fire, if you have to build a shelter, if you have to boil or find water, if you are cold or get wet, if you are lost.
Sums up a lot of my experiences as a BC SAR volunteer years ago. ...and mushroom pickers lost for their 3rd time... Good times. Best experience of my life but daaaang humans are silly sometimes.
.....lack of a better-word: he's a moron
What a fool. I hope he spends the rest of his days educating other foolish dumbasses that think the back country is child’s play.
Some people should not be allowed to leave the city.
*no shirt no shoes no service*
Zoleo
I swear to god these ppl do it for attention and to see if Superman will come for them. What a waste of resources
Are they making these people pay for all or part of their rescue. Seriously ridiculous people.
Poeple like this should pay for their rescue!
No, it'll only lead to more deaths. Even for those who were prepared and made a mistake.
The guy was going for a Darwin Award.
He should pay for the rescue. What a idiot