North Shore Rescue gets cheeky with hike safety post

Volunteers with North Shore Rescue are getting tired of responding to preventable emergencies. You can tell by the tone of its newest messaging on preparedness and safety.

"You think flip flops or sandals are appropriate footwear ANYWHERE in the woods," wrote Curtis Jones in a post titled, 'The Allure and Danger of Hiking the North Shore,' on its website.

The missive contains a new take on the outfit's 10 essentials list for heading into the back country. The new list describesthe unprepared hiker, which the rescue groupsays it deals with on a weekly basis:

1. You go for a hike, anywhere, without telling someone responsible where you are going and when to expect you back.
2. You do not know what the 10 essentials are.
3. You think that proper hydration before a hike is a Latte or other coffee beverage.
4. You think the Grouse Grind is a stair master, no different than the gym.
5. You think flip flops or sandals are appropriate footwear ANYWHERE in the woods.
6. You hear of a hike from a friend, and drive up there to do it without researching it.
7. You do not check the weather before you head out on a hike.
8. You do not carry a flashlight, other than your phone.
9. You think your smart phone is sufficient to get you out of trouble (IT ISN'T).
10. You think that North Shore Rescue will be able to save you, regardless of your mistakes.

"We've been incredibly busy this year and a lot of these calls are preventable so we're trying to think outside the box," said team leader Mike Danks about the post.

North Shore Rescuehas responded to21 calls in July so far in 2016. The year before, the group responded to a total of nine for the entire month.

It's also on pace to break its 2015 record of 136 calls. So far this year, its receiveda total of 75 so far this year.

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"Hopefully through these posts people are going to understand that we're getting frustrated, we're trying to think outside the box, we're doing everything we can," said Danks adding that it's time for responsible hikers to help too.

'Public needs to stand up'

"We need members of the public to stand up and start asking these people if you see someone on the trail and they're wearing flip-flops, well you know what, take a minute and just offer them some advice and ifthey're not into listening to that advice, well, that's fine but at least you tried.

"The last thing we want to do is completely ignore these people and let them go on their way because probably in the next hour or two they're going to be calling for help."