Coquitlam Search and Rescue responded to 3 separate calls Monday night
CBC News | Posted: July 29, 2020 2:05 AM | Last Updated: July 29, 2020
Most serious call involved cyclist who followed an app’s directions to a difficult backcountry trail
Coquitlam Search and Rescue responded to three calls involving four people in distress over a matter of hours Monday night.
The first, and most serious, call came in around 6 p.m. for a cyclist who had gotten lost in the area of Buntzen Lake when he followed a popular app's directions to Swan Falls, along a difficult backcountry trail.
"He didn't know the area," said Jim Delgrande with Coquitlam SAR. "He had heard that there was a loop and I'm not sure why he decided it would be good to take his bike and climb around this thing but he did."
The 35-year-old cyclist — who was not riding a mountain bike — wasn't found until late Monday night and it was close to 3 a.m. Tuesday morning before he made it out of the woods with the help of the SAR team.
According to the cyclist's partner, Casarina Hocevar, he had decided to bike the Swan Falls trail based on information from Strava, a workout app that allows users to upload and share routes or trails they've completed.
"[He's] pretty diligent about double-checking bike trails that we see on apps […] with the actual ones in the park," she said. "But unfortunately the day that he didn't do that was not a good turnout."
Hocevar and her partner stayed in touch throughout the day. She was able to track his GPS location using the Strava app, but at one point her partner had to turn it off because it was draining his phone's data and battery.
"The problem there was that Swan Falls is very steep," said Delgrande. "It's quite nasty."
The cyclist was dehydrated and exhausted but didn't suffer any major injuries.
Coquitlam SAR was also called for an incident where a male hiker had twisted his ankle.
The third incident involved two young women also on the Swan Falls trail who had lost contact with friends and hadn't returned when expected. By the time SAR teams were beginning to respond, the two women had returned.
Delgrande says with many of the more well-known parks requiring permits because of pandemic restrictions, outdoor enthusiasts are heading into less familiar territory more often.
"They go to more out-of-the-way places and places they may not have gone to or not have information," he said. "In that case it's doubly important to research where you're going to go."
Coquitlam SAR was dispatched again the next day at 1 p.m. to the Coquitlam River at Crystal falls for an elderly woman who had fallen and hurt her hip, for a total of four call-outs in a 24 period.
Delgrande says as summer gets hotter, it's important to stay hydrated and not be too ambitious in attempting difficult trails.