On Sunday, October 6th members of Coquitlam SAR and approximately 37 prospective members of the team attended the team’s traditional recruitment hike at Buntzen Lake. The hike travels the very popular Diez Vistas trail, a 7-8 km hike that travels the ridge along the western side of Buntzen Lake.
The recruitment hike is a long standing part of Coquitlam SAR’s membership process where applicants are invited to attend the hike as a form of interview, and as a way to get to know them in a wilderness setting. While not intended as a fitness test, the Diez Vistas hike is the perfect setting to see the approach possible members take toward a backcountry trip, and it allows current members of the team to engage them in conversation.
Recruitment Information session at Coquitlam City Hall
The members selected for the hike were chosen from approximately 100 applicants, the deadline for applications was September 30th.
The Membership Committee making selections
After the hike a small team social was held. A dedication ceremony for a bench memorialising SAR member Roland Webb was held. The bench, placed on the dog beach area at Buntzen Lake where Rollie spent many hours with his children and dog Finn, has a back rest carved by a local carver.
Rollie always said that in his next life he wanted to be a dog so the location is more than fitting!