Missing hikers rescued near Mount Seymour's Dog Mountain trail

Two peoplewho wentmissing near theDog Mountain Trail, a popular hiking and snowshoeing spot on Mount Seymour, have been rescued late Tuesday night.

"It was a trip I'll never forget," said KatharenaRek, a German tourist. "It was quite cold and got colder and colder."

Rek was hiking the trail withIanWillemsenfromCoquitlam, B.C.,when the pair lost their way and couldn't find their way back in the dark.

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"We weren't too far from the trail, we knew that. That's why we stayed put," said Willemsen.

"We did leave late in the day, so really we should have left a couple of hours, at least, earlier."

The two hikers didn't get to the trail until about 2 p.m. PT.Sunset in Vancouver during this time of year is at 4:15 p.m., and the five-kilometretrail takes roughlytwo hours to complete.

Trail washed out on rainy night

Willemsen said trails in the area werewashed out and the path wasn't clear, and when they tried to backtrack "everything looked the same."

Mike Danks with the volunteer-based North Shore Rescuesaid the two hikers weren'tdressed for the frigid conditions.

"Obviously we weren't ready for an overnight trip, but for just a day trip we were fine in terms of how we were dressed," saidWillemsen.

Dankssaid earlier in the evening that theforeign cellphonethe twohad made it more difficult to pinpoint their exact location.

He also said tourists and other hikers often rely on cellphones for navigation, which can cause problems because there isn't usuallycellular service in the backcountry.

"It's a real challenge with touriststhat are visiting Vancouver," said Danks."The mountains are so accessible, Ithinkthey're getting up there and not realizing they're a potential hazard."

He said North Shore Rescue is hoping to work more closely with visitors and locals to prevent these types of rescues in the first place.

The volunteer-run organization has had its busiest year on record.