Grouse trail marker thief strains North Shore Rescue resources

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – North Shore Rescue (NSR) says stolen safety markers on Grouse Mountain trails are putting hikers at risk and replacing the signage is wasting valuable time and resources.

Hundreds of markers have been removed from Grouse Mountain area trails including MacKay Creek, Larson, Dreamweaver and Old BCMC, and the rescue organization says it’s putting people at risk of getting lost, hurt or killed.

“On the Old BCMC, someone called for help and we had to call out our team,” Doug Pope with NSR said. “He was in quite difficult terrain and if he kept going, he could have got himself hurt or killed. It’s a serious situation. It’s causing extra work for our team and it’s endangering the safety of hikers in those areas.”

He said crews have remarked the trails several times, but they keep getting removed.

NSR suspects the person or people responsible either don’t want others using the trails or don’t like the bright orange markers disturbing the greenery, Pope said, but they aren’t considering the vital role the markers play.

“They’re not really thinking of others, because there’s a lot of other people that hike the trail in low light conditions or may not be familiar with the terrain,” he said, adding with winter on the horizon, trail beds could be hidden beneath snow.

With a limited number of volunteers, Pope said it’s impossible to monitor all trails at all times, and they aren’t always able to check every trail to see if markers are missing.

North Vancouver RCMP are aware of the incidents, but have not launched an investigation at this point.

“The file’s been generated. It’ll be left open and if there’s further complaints, if there’s a witness or tips, we certain will (investigate), but as you can appreciate, we don’t have the resources to go out there and do a sting operation to see who is taking these signs down,” Cpl. Richard De Jong said.

NSR wants anyone who sees someone removing markers to call police.