Barefoot hiker rescued in pouring rain after lost overnight on North Vancouver trail

A North Shore Rescue crew is seen in a helicopter in this undated file photo. (North Shore Rescue/Facebook)

A hiker was rescued out of the pouring rain last week after losing his shoes and gear following a slip on a North Vancouver trail.

North Shore Rescue volunteers and Metro Vancouver park rangers responded to a call involving a man in his 30s heading to Norvan Falls in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park Friday around 3 p.m.

Two trail runners at Norvan Creek saw a man on the trail with a black garbage bag over his torso and no shoes, and told park staff at the parking lot who then called police, said North Shore Rescue search manager Don Jardine.

Park rangers then drove a utility vehicle up the trail to find the hiker alongside search and rescue crews assisting on foot. Roughly three and a half kilometres up the trail, they found the man just before 5:30 p.m. They provided a tarp to help him dry off and then drove back down.

“He was actually in surprisingly good shape, considering he was hiking with no shoes and no proper rain gear,” Jardine said.

When rescuers and park rangers got the hiker to safe grounds, that’s when crews found out the man actually began his hike Thursday, spending a night on the trail.

Jardine said they learned that the hiker hid his bag in a hollow tree to fetch some water and couldn’t find it when he came back. While he was looking, it became dark and he fell, losing both his shoes and wasn’t able to find them. Luckily, the hiker had no injuries.

After rescue crews and park rangers got him down the trail Friday, Jardine said police gave the hiker a ride to the SeaBus and he headed back home.

“It was quite a group effort,” Jardine said. “The next day, one of our members went in to see if they could locate his pack, and wasn’t able to find it …. He’s going to have to get a new cellphone unless a member of the public finds it.”

Given that the sun sets earlier this time of year, the search manager urges people to start their hikes early in the day to ensure they have enough time to complete their trek.

“If you’re not going to make it to your destination, turn around and come back,” he said. “Don’t keep pushing it if you’re going to run out of daylight.”

Jardine and Tyler Langeloo, park operations supervisor at Metro Vancouver, both said there are a number of safety messages people can take away from Friday’s rescue.

Travelling with a group or another person if possible, having a trip plan and checking the weather to bring appropriate clothes are some of the main takeaways people should keep in mind before going on a hike, they said.

“It was a good outcome,” Langeloo said. “Our staff were in the right place at the right time. We were able to locate this person pretty quickly and I thought our staff did a pretty exceptional job providing support to this individual and got them back into the safe hands of RCMP pretty quickly.”

Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.