For everyone heading out on hiking trails this season to check out the fall colours comes a cautionary tale about venturing out alone and lucking out when technology saves the day.
On Wednesday, Lydia Liu headed out onto the Bruce Trail, but became lost after nightfall.
At about 8:45 p.m., she posted a photo of her location to a Bruce Trail Facebook group, with a message asking if anyone could help her contact police. Members of the group quickly began weighing in, identifying her location as Lion’s Head Lookout.
While that is about 20 to 30 minutes from a road, Liu appeared to be having trouble finding her location on a map on her phone and also had trouble communicating with police. Her messages to the Facebook group were in broken English, and she said her first language is Mandarin.
She said she needed help communicating her location to police.
Rich Moccia, a volunteer who regularly inspects and maintains the section of the trail between Wiarton and Tobermory, advised Liu to stay put and avoid walking around because there are “many crevasses and drops.”
“I recognized the rock in the water in the photograph because I’ve hiked past it 1,000 times and I boat in the area, as well, so I knew precisely the location where the photo was taken,” Moccia told CBC Toronto on Thursday.
Other group members weighed in online, asking if Liu was alone (she was) and what supplies she had (a flashlight, but no compass or whistle). She said her cellphone battery was at full charge.
Moccia called the Wiarton OPP detachment, the closest one to the lookout, which organized a search party. Moccia stayed on the line with police as they looked for her, according to his messages to the Facebook group.
At about 9:30 p.m., Liu posted that she could hear the searchers calling her name. At 10:30 p.m., Moccia informed the group that Liu and the search party were hiking out, but it would be slow going due to the darkness and the difficulty of the terrain.
Trail ‘not one to be taken lightly’
Moccia said Thursday that the section of trail Liu found herself in can be “quite treacherous” in the dark, with about a 75-metre drop to the water off the cliff.
“It really was just a matter of keeping her calm and keeping her in place and keeping her warm,” Moccia said.
Liu herself would not agree to an on-camera interview. But she told CBC News over the telephone Thursday that she was lost for about three hours. She was grateful for the swift and robust response to her Facebook post.
Liu posted this photo to a Bruce Trail Facebook group after she got lost on Wednesday evening. (Lydia Liu/Facebook)
She was not injured, she said, and is now safe at her Toronto home with her son.
Moccia said Liu was lucky to get cellphone reception, because that’s not the case in many parts of the Bruce Trail.
He said novice or experienced hikers alike should ensure they are well-prepared in case they get lost or are out longer than they plan. Tips include:
- If you’re hiking alone, let someone know where you’re going and when you expect to return.
- Plan to wrap up a couple of hours before it gets dark.
- Carry a backpack with a compass, maps, sound-making gear (a whistle or horn), as well as warm, waterproof clothing, and food and water.
“It’s a gorgeous area to be hiking but not one to be taken lightly,” Moccia said.
He noted that tens of thousands of people hike the path from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Tobermory every year, and many take pride in helping to ensure other hikers can enjoy it, too.
Of spending his own time helping Liu, Moccia modestly replied: “It’s the least one hiker could do for another hiker so I was happy to spend the time.”
Some Facebook users who saw Liu’s post immediatly recognized the terrain in her photos. (Lydia Liu/Facebook)
With files from Adrian Cheung