North Vancouver - Dear Editor: Almost every night and in most issues of the North Shore News, a "breaking news" story hits us with once again, another lost hiker or hikers (usually visitors) experiencing a night on the mountain, sometimes alone or wi
North Vancouver - Dear Editor: Almost every night and in most issues of the North Shore News, a "breaking news" story hits us with once again, another lost hiker or hikers (usually visitors) experiencing a night on the mountain, sometimes alone or with North Shore Rescue volunteers who risked their lives to rescue them. This is then followed by a long-line helicopter ride plus a meet-and-greet with media and sometimes an ambulance ride from our North Shore mountains and hiking areas to our local medical facilities.The Sunday, Sept. 27 nightly news showed a young man who started his hike late Saturday afternoon in no more than a T-shirt, pants and running shoes. His plan was a quick hike up Grouse Mountain's trail area. He spent the night in a treacherous gully after a fall, with two NSR volunteers (unflattering photos and video provided) in the cold and wet and from what the news said, "close to freezing temperatures."A (White Rock resident) is still lost on the Lions somewhere (after a Sept. 12 hike) and I hate to say that the outcome of his experience probably won't be so lucky.Media is not doing us any favours by broadcasting these events. In fact, the messages are advertising a thrilling experience for visitors to our region. We've become the heli-rescue go-to destination in Canada, perhaps the world.Doesn't anyone think that our resources would be better spent on prevention rather than rescue? Aren't we, as local residents, wanting to support the excellent efforts of the North Shore Search and Rescue group to operate as efficiently as possible?The NSR representative in the news story said it had been an exhausting and busy weekend, as this was not the only rescue they performed in 48 hours.On a trip to Arizona in the late '90s, a friend and I decided to hike up Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale. No biggie compared to our trails, or so we thought. On top of the 35 C temperature at 10 a.m., egg-frying sun conditions and no shade under a cloudless sky, there was absolutely no way we were allowed to start the hike without a review of gear and conditions by a park ranger. A trail guide was posted at the entrance of the trail to warn us of the dangers and to ensure we had more water than we thought we needed.In other words, it was more effective for the local municipality/parks board to have a person and strongly worded signage stationed at the entrance of the trail to stop people from trying to hike in flip-flops, with dogs, or inappropriate gear and no water than constant rescue team deployment. With daily monitoring, at the end of the day or close to it, the trail was shut down. No one could get past the gatekeeper.I know we want visitors to enjoy a safe, awe-inspired experience on our North Shore trails but there needs to be another option here. There needs to be positive nightly and print news about our trails. Don't you think? R.J. Harvey North VancouverEditor's note: NSR recommends that hikers take these 10 essentials with them into the backcountry: northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/
