A father and his teenage son from Banff spent a cold and wet night in the wilderness after getting lost while riding the Goat Creek Trail between Banff and Canmore, Monday (May 23).
A 37-year-old man and his 13-year-old son were reported missing around 8 p.m. Monday and were found the next morning around 7 a.m. by a team of rescuers from Parks Canada and Kananaskis public safety.
The two were wearing shorts, but did have some food on them.
Rescuers say they were uninjured.
“They were cold and wet, but in good spirits,” said Steve Holeczi, Parks Canada visitor safety specialist in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.
“They had taken a wrong turn and ended up about 10 kilometres up towards the Spray River. They realized they had made a wrong turn, so hunkered down for the night.”
The two mountain bikers set off along Goat Creek trail from the Banff end around 1 p.m. Monday and were planning to be at the Canmore end around 4 p.m.
Parks Canada and RCMP were notified around 8 p.m. that the two had not come home.
A Parks team and a crew from Kananaskis searched by helicopter for any sign of the two riders and then, as darkness approached, both rescue teams rode the trail from either end.
There’s a fork in the trail about a third of the way from the Banff end of the Goat Creek trail.
“We actually did a search at a turn that goes off up the Spray River area, but it was too dark to venture way into the wilderness,” said Holeczi.
Holeczi said they did an aerial search from a helicopter at first light Tuesday morning (May 24) and found the father and son about 10 kms up the Spray River.
He said they were already heading back in the direction they had travelled, hoping to come within cell phone range to let family and authorities know they were okay.
“We landed close and got them in the helicopter and brought them back,” he said.
Holeczi said Parks Canada encourages outdoor enthusiasts to plan for going into the backcountry by carrying maps, having extra clothing and extra food.
“People should make sure they have enough clothing and food so that if something does happen, they have a little bit of backup,” he said.
