Sealed buckets containing first aid and warming supplies will be available for emergency use by those enjoying the Dakota Ridge recreation area this winter.
The project, coordinated by Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue, tied the equipment stashes to trees near the furthest east, north and west trail intersections.
“It can easily take two hours for Search and Rescue to reach a subject at the perimeter of the trail system,” search and rescue member Sue Duxbury wrote in an email to Coast Reporter. “This way a subject can at least have a means to keep warm, wrap a sprained ankle, or use the handwarmers.”
The local team was inspired by the Black Jack XC cross country ski area in Rossland.
The locations will be monitored and the buckets raised higher on the trees as snow accumulates. Duxbury, who is also a volunteer groomer on the Dakota Ridge trails, has volunteered for that assignment.
The buckets were donated by Gibsons Home Hardware. Inside of each will be a wool blanket and a basic first aid kit. The screw lids and contents were paid for by Sunshine Coast Community Forest, which has tenure areas that overlap the recreation site. Vital Signs helped with the vinyl wraps for installations.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District operates the Dakota Ridge winter recreational area. The 1,532 acre plateau is known for its 20 kilometres of world-class cross-country ski trails, four kilometres of groomed snowshoe trails, three kilometres of wilderness snowshoe trails, and a sledding area. The trails feature old growth forests and open areas in a subalpine setting. Topping out at 1,200 metres, Dakota Ridge amazing views of the Coast Mountains, Vancouver Island, and Salish Sea.
