The last long weekend of the summer was a busy one for North Shore rescuers.
A camper suffering dehydration, a lost hiker, and a teen trapped below Quarry Rock were just a few of those who ventured on to local trails and ended up needing a helping hand.
On Sunday, North Shore Rescue was called out to help a man on Mount Seymour around 5 p.m. after the man – who was hiking with two small dogs – got off the trail and was unable to find his way out in the Goldie Lake area. Rescuers found the man and helped him – and his two pugs – back out of the trail.
Later that night, at 9 p.m., rescuers were called out again after a call came in from two Mexican tourists camping on the Howe Sound Crest Trail, after one of the men began experiencing severe abdominal pain and was not able to walk. After being patched through to the men, rescuers were able to determine the pair were on the south side of the St. Mark’s summit, “quite high up on the peak,” said Mike Danks, North Shore Rescue team leader. A crew of five rescuers, including a doctor, located the two shortly before midnight, and determined that the man was severely dehydrated. “They had done an overnight hike with minimal water and no water filtration equipment with them,” said Danks. “It’s a very critical thing to have especially in these temperatures.” After giving the man warm fluids and electrolytes, rescuers were able to walk him back to the Cypress parking lot by about 3 a.m.
Two final calls included dispatching a team with a Talon helicopter to Crown Mountain Monday afternoon after a 15-year-old girl, part of a group of four hikers, twisted her ankle and was unable to walk. The team also helped a mother and daughter who were hiking in the Quarry Rock area and were caught by darkness around 8:20 p.m. on Monday evening.
District of North Vancouver firefighters were also kept busy with rescues closer to home.
On Monday morning, rescuers were called out after a young man who was mountain biking on the Pangor Trail on Mount Seymour crashed and suffered head injuries. Despite his full face helmet, the youth likely had a broken nose, said assistant fire chief Jeremy Duncan. “He was lucky not to have anything happen to his eyes.” A team of firefighters, a paramedic and a district park ranger helped him off the mountain.
Firefighters also assisted when a 17-year-old, who was among a group of 50 to 75 teens congregating at the Seymour River’s Pool 88 near Riverside Drive, injured his knee Monday afternoon. “There’s actually a locked gate and an eight-foot fence there, but they just jump over,” said Duncan.
Another teen required the help of a high-angle rope rescue team just before 6 p.m. Monday when he somehow managed to slip down the face of Quarry Rock and become stuck on a rock ledge there. Luckily for the 17-year-old, who was with a group of friends, rescuers already have an anchor system in place “for this exact type of call,” said Duncan.
The teen, from the Lower Mainland, was unharmed.
