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St. Laurent had done neither — “cardinal sins,” a search and rescue worker would later say.

He wasn’t completely ill-prepared for the elements when he set out Oct. 13 for what was supposed to be a “routine” one-day, 15-kilometre romp up and around the backside of Grouse Mountain — a trek he had completed a couple times before.

He had thermalwear, a spare change of socks, food and water to last a couple days and a tarp — something that would be critical, he said, in shielding him from the elements.

But there was one thing he didn’t bank on: frostbite.

Having started his journey later than expected that morning, he got caught that first night in a steep area in Hanes Valley, and so he laid out a bed of ferns and set up camp. It rained off and on and he shivered through the night.

But the next morning, he stretched his limbs and did his warm-ups exercises and felt fine to continue on to his turnaround point, Lynn Lake.

But on his return trip, his troubles began. His feet became sore and puffy.

He decided to ditch the trail and search for some firewood to warm up.

That’s when his feet seized up.

“When frost bite set in, that completely changed the ballgame.”

Having lost the sensation and mobility in his feet, he was only able to “hobble” on his heels or crawl on his hands and knees to traverse the steep terrain. At times, he slid down on his rear end.

By his third day, he had run out of food and hypothermia was setting in. For the first time, he became worried.