Another rescue

This time it was on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Allan Angeles, while hiking alone along the JDF Marine Trail, lost the trail in heavy rain near Sombrio Beach.

I just slipped, fell off a cliff and landed on a couple of rocks. Luckily I landed on my backpack, which cushioned me and most likely saved me.

Angeles thinks me may have passed out for an hour or so. Upon waking, he managed to climb the cliff and make camp for the night. The next day, he tried to make it back to Sombrio, but after hiking about 1.5km he was still unable to find the trail. He then went out on another cliff and started waving his tarp to flag down a fishing boat.

Luckily, two American fishermen were able to pick Angeles up and ferry him to Jordan River. From there, he was taken by ambulance to Victoria General Hospital. Angeles was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, effectively ending this year's hiking season for him.

Once again, I wish I could have some more details on this one. Hiking 1.5 km and not being able to find the trail is quite astounding on a coastal trail. On the other hand, the particular section between Chin and Sombrio goes inland a considerable way, and in heavy rain it would be very difficult to navigate off-trail.

I'm glad we have another relatively happy ending, and I'll spare the lectures this time!

Hiker Survives Fall From Bridge on West Coast Trail

This Sunday, a couple from Edmonton had their West Coast Trail hike end shortly after it began. The Times Colonist reports that Kristie Wenger and her boyfriend, Jonah Krauskopf, accidentally left the main trail and started following an old, out of use section of trail. Wenger attempted to cross a broken, slippery log bridge, but fell when she turned around to look at Krauskopf. The fall took her 25 feet down to the creek bed, but miracuously she wasn't seriously injured.

Luckily, as they were less than 2km from the trail head, Krauskopf was able to protect Wenger from the steady rain with a sleeping bag and tarp, then head for help. At the shore of the San Juan River, he was able to wave to a group of people on the other shore. One of the group, Victoria firefighter Cody Gidney, took charge and grabbed a rope, first aid kit, and radio from the Park Wardens. With two other men, he canoed across the river, then hiked the rough trail in flipflops to Wenger.

Gidney was able to assertain that although Wenger's injuries weren't overly serious, she would need to be airlifted off the trail. Two wardens arrived and helped Gidney prepare the site for the evacuation. Roughly 5 hours after the fall, a Cormorant helicopter from CFB Comox arrived and performed a successful evacuation.

So what did we learn from this?
It's hard to determine whether this mishap was caused by poor trail marking, careless hiking, inexperience, or just plain bad luck. We've all taken a wrong turn on a trail before, which in itself is a scary experience. Maps and compasses wouldn't have helped them avoid this, only experience.

Krauskopf did everything right after the fall, from protecting Wenger from the elements to quickly heading off for help. Some things I would add that he may or may not have done:

• Leave a note with the victim indicating which way you went for help, what time, and what injuries there may be. The victim may lose conscoiusness or otherwise not be able to communicate with a would-be rescuer.
• Remove all scented and food items from the hiker and hang from a tree. A bear or cougar may sense the defenselessness of the victim.
• Indicate on your map where the incident took place, so you can show rescuers. A digital photo may even help them find an obscure area in case you aren't able to return with the rescue team. Tie some gear around a tree where you left the main trail, and spread out your tent or tarp at the rescue site to aid helicopters or boats. Give them the colour and description of the gear.

Once again, luck and good decision making helped this incident to have a happy ending. Thank you to Cody Gidney for going above and beyond the call of duty.

(note: the above photo isn't the area where they fell, but illustrates the disrepair some areas of the trail can be in.)

Five Hikers Rescued from West Coast Trail

An article today in my local rag, The Times Colonist, describes a narrowly averted disaster on the West Coast Trail yesterday. It seems that this group was attempting to cross one of the surge channels near Owen Point and were struck by a rogue wave and swept into the channel.

After reading the article, there are several quotes that I think are worthy of mention:

The rogue wave hit the hikers about 9 a.m. A park ranger spotted the hikers and called for help about 6 p.m.

That's 9 hours before the call for help even gets placed. Owen Point is a (fairly difficult) half-day hike from the Port Renfrew trailhead, so this should be a warning of how prepared you need to be when on a remote trail. If they were further along the trail, it could have been much longer, perhaps the next day. When I spent 5 days on the trail, I only saw a ranger once.

Joe Ellis, 24, a theology student from Anchorage, Alaska, and a friend of the Petersons, jumped the wide crevice.

Don't do this! Everyone hiking the West Coast Trail gets a mandatory lecture about the dangers of surge channels and other trail dangers. None of them need to be jumped, there are trails around all of them. At least these hikers had their packs off, otherwise the outcome wouldn't have been so happy.

Peterson, who initially had reservations about hiking the trail, but decided to go along to be with her brother and father.

If you aren't 100% sure you are up for hiking a difficult trail, don't do it. You endanger yourself, other hikers, and rescue workers. For the West Coast Trail in particular, going with an experienced guide isn't enough, you need to be experienced yourself. This group had exceptional luck, combined with keeping their heads and making some good decisions, the only reason nobody was seriously hurt or killed. This is also stresses the policy of keeping your group together, and, if you are a solo hiker, wait for another hiker or group before you attempt any dangerous sections.

I'm happy that this story ended happily, and admire the courage of this group. Hopefully we can all learn something from it, and try to lower the current statistics of 50-80 rescues on the West Coast Trail annually.