First-time hiker spends night alone

A 48-year-old visitor from Chicago was cold, tired, wet and hungry when located in Glacier National Park’s backcountry by searchers on June 11.

According to Park officials, Luis Lim was found about 3 3/4 miles from the Marias Pass Trailhead, off the Autumn Creek Trail, around 10:30 a.m. following a search by five crews of Glacier Park employees on foot and horseback.

Lim was not injured and arrived safely at the trailhead around 2 p.m. Flathead County Search and Rescue and Two Bear Air were en route to the search when he was located.

According to Stephen Vickery, 66, of Toronto, who had been hiking with Lim, the two met in East Glacier in the morning of June 10 and decided to hike together for a day trip to the Lubec Trailhead. Vickery described himself as an experienced hiker but noted that this was Lim’s first time hiking.

They departed from East Glacier around 11 a.m. Park dispatch received a phone call from Lim around 5:40 p.m. reporting the two had lost the trail and were concerned they wouldn’t make it out before dark.

The Glacier County Sheriff’s Office “pinged” Lim’s cell phone several times in order to pinpoint their location, and deputies located Vickery on U.S. 2 around 2 a.m.  

Vickery told Park rangers that Lim was still in the backcountry and physically unable to continue due to exhaustion. The hikers had carried water and food for a day hike and were not prepared to stay overnight.

In an unrelated incident, a Glacier Park trail crew member working on Ole Creek, in the south end of Glacier Park, accidentally triggered a SPOT personal tracking device, which contacted emergency dispatch by satellite radio around 2 p.m. on June 11.

According to Park spokesperson Jennifer Lutman, a Minuteman helicopter flew over the area and a Park search crew headed up the trail on foot before the trail crew radioed back and reported the error.

Park officials encourage visitors to learn about areas they plan to visit, especially when traveling in the backcountry, and to carry emergency items such as up-to-date maps, compass, first aid kit, flashlight, rain gear, matches, fire starter, whistle, extra food and extra clothing.

Hikers who become lost are advised to stay on a designated trail and not move from their location, attempt to contact emergency services if possible and follow all directions from Park rangers for their own safety.

For more information, visit online at www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/upload/Day-Trip-Plan.pdf.