Hiker breaks cardinal rule, gets lost on Mt. Benson
NANAIMO — With no emergency supplies, food, water and only wearing shorts and a t-shirt, a lost hiker was forced to spend a night on Mount Benson after getting himself lost.
Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Gary O’Brien said “the only thing going for this young man was that the weather was cooperating” and it could have been a lot worse.
The 23-year-old hiker left from Witchcraft Lake with a group of friends for an evening hike up Mt. Benson after 5 p.m. on Friday, May 26. O’Brien said the man quickly became lost after he ran ahead and was separated, breaking a cardinal rule of hiking.
RCMP and Search and Rescue searched the area all night after the group returned to Witchcraft Lake and their friend wasn’t there.