Search and rescue personnel on the North Shore say three hikers who got lost on a trail over the weekend were ill-equipped, unprepared, and lucky to be found safe.
North Shore Rescue says the trio left late in the day to reach their destination on the Coliseum Mountain trail and didn’t have lights or headlamps, and two of their three cellphones ran out of power.
The search and rescue team says one was able to reach help by calling 911, and the lost hikers spent the night in a safe location and planned to come down the next morning.
The team says the three were found hiking out by rescuers, and the situation offers many lessons for other hikers, including proper planning to account for shorter days, not relying on cellphones because of lack of service in the backcountry, and avoiding Google Maps, which is unreliable for navigating the wilderness.
“There are many ‘lessons learned’ arising out of this search. As a reminder, we do this not to shame … but rather to educate, in hopes that this information will prevent future such situations,” North Shore Rescue said in a Facebook post.