Another hiker has had to be rescued in Strathcona Provincial Park, bringing to four the number of incidents in the area since late July.
The latest rescue came Saturday when an experienced hiker and climber ran into some bad luck near Mount Burman and the Golden Hinde.
“He had planned to spend a bit of time up in Strathcona park to summit some mountains,” said Daryl Beck, search manager fro Campbell River Search and Rescue.
But the man ran into difficulties when he fell into a lake on Friday with his backpack on and soaked everything he had, Beck said.
“It was fortunate there were no injuries involved.”
Beck said the man began to dry things out but heavy rain set in on Saturday. He was still a day away from his car so he decided to call for help.
“A helicopter went in and fortunately the weather had broken enough that they could land and pack him up and take him out.”
Beck said the man was well prepared despite the trouble he experienced.
“It just shows you how stuff comes up.”
Last week, three Manitoba men had to be rescued from the summit of the Golden Hinde, Vancouver Island’s tallest mountain, after tiring from the 2,195-metre climb.
Beck said they hadn’t done a lot of research about the mountain and were using an app that didn’t have descriptions of possible routes.
The men and three rescuers ended up spending the night on the mountain before being flown out by helicopter from a site below the summit.
There was an earlier rescue from the Golden Hinde on July 24, followed by a rescue of an injured person from nearby Myra Falls on July 30.
Still another rescue was carried out last week from Bald Mountain near Youbou.
In that case, two people were rescued, one of them by helicopter, when they became stranded on the summit after running out of water and feeling ill in temperatures above 30 C.
Beck advised people to be prepared and make a careful plan when heading out for a hike, and to bring a cellphone or other communication device.
