A weekend camping trip for a large group of adults and youths ended with an unscheduled night for some on the Kludahk Trail near Jordan River with their rescuers.
The trail runs roughly parallel to the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, but on the other side of the highway, extending 48 kilometres from Jordan River to Port Renfrew along the San Juan Ridge.
Victoria Clarke, spokesperson for Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue, said the group of adults and youths had camped Saturday night at Wye Lake and was planning to hike out on Sunday, but some members began to feel unwell.
“I think they’d spent a pretty cold, wet night in their tents,” Clarke said. “In addition to being cold and tired, they were sick.”
The adults decided to call for help rather than try to hike back to Jordan River with the whole group.
“I think it was really a good idea on their part,” said Clarke, noting the group was in a mountainous area and the adults might have underestimated the snowy, damp conditions.
She gave them kudos for being prepared, however, which included having a satellite-communication device to call out, since cellphone service in the area is spotty.
Clarke said a hiker died of exposure in the same area two years ago.
The Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue team was alerted about 11 a.m. Sunday, and reached the group of four adults and 11 youths within a few hours near Wye Lake — about 11 kilometres from Jordan River.
When rescuers got to the scene, the fog was too heavy for a helicopter operation. Clarke said that after assessing the group, the rescue team concluded that two of the adults and six of the youths couldn’t hike out safely and should stay the night.
“We got a fire set up and we had clean, warm socks and gear, we had warming pads and made up some hot-water bottles,” said spokesperson Victoria Clarke.
They were led out at first light Monday.
“It was a great group of kids, I must say,” Clarke said. “It was just such a pleasure to work with them and the adults that accompanied them.
“They were really in good spirits, all things considered, and definitely had an adventure that they didn’t expect to have.”
Members of the group might have come away “with a few more tools on their toolkit” in terms of preparation, she said.
The overnight stay for rescuers was on the same night their counterparts in the Comox Valley spent the night in Strathcona Provincial Park in snow caves, after responding to an injured snowboarder.
Clarke thanked Metchosin Search and Rescue, saying its team “really came out in numbers for us and overnighted with us, as well.”
