K-Country hikers reminded to be prepared in case of emergency

Kananaskis Country safety staff say they saw a spike in rescue calls for people stranded on mountains after dark this week.

That included assisting 19 people in four separate incidents.

Nobody was injured on those calls.

Still, a K-Countryrescue specialist, Matt Mueller, says hikers need to be mindful that the sun is setting earlier as fall approaches.

• Climbers rescued after spending night on a mountain ledge near Canmore

"If you look at the past years, usually as the days start to shorten, we forget to bring headlamps and flashlights and things like that and we're somewhat surprised by the darkness," he said.

Veteran hiking guide Carlos Buhler says he's happy to see more people taking up hiking as visitor numbers in the mountains appear to be picking up this summer.

He has someadvice for those new to alpine trails.

"When I try to pack or have my children pack for a day out, I try to think what could happen if we're out a little longer in a little bit more inclement weather than we expected."

Rescue staff say they've also noticed that someof the peoplerescued are relatively new to hiking on mountain trails.

They're reminding backcountry visitors to plan out trips carefully and consider starting earlier in the day.

• MORE ALBERTA NEWS|Canmore public art gets 2 antlers up from local elk
• MORE ALBERTA NEWS|Puppet performance shines light on the return of Banff's bison