On Thursday April 29 at 2145hrs, we received a call from the Ridge Meadows RCMP for a missing elderly lady who had not returned from a hike in the forest around the Rock Ridge subdivision of Maple Ridge.

Today was the introductory hike for the RMSAR candidates. Meeting at Golden Ears Park for 0830hrs, the day started with assigning numbers and taking pictures of all the new applicants. We then weighed their packs to make sure they were all carrying approximately 45 lbs each. This was followed by a safety briefing for RMSAR members and a brief description of the trail for the candidates. The hike started at the Main Horse corral parking lot and followed the Mike Lake trail. It then crossed the Mike Lake road and headed up the Incline Trail to where the Eric Dunning Trail intersects. Turning right on the Eric Dunning, we proceeded down to the main park road and followed the Alouette Valley trail back to the parking lot. This was about 10km and 3 hours.

The candidates will now be interviewed and those that pass the interview will be invited to an overnight hike where we will push them a little harder to see how they perform under pressure.

We wish all the candidates well in the upcoming weeks.