Missing Squamish hiker shares survival story

Stanislav Volo is back in one piece.

On Aug. 30, Volo set out on what was supposed to be a six-hour hike of the Mount Habrich Loop, a challenging 12-kilometre loop trail near Squamish.

He didn’t return home for several days, prompting a large-scale search effort.

Volo says the trouble began when, midway through the hike, he realized his phone battery wouldn’t last the hike back.

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“And then I realized, OK, so let’s try and find a way down.”

He couldn’t find his way and had to seek shelter for the night.

“There was a little cave,” he said.

“I thought, OK, that’s useful. I can hide from the rain if it rains.”

Over the days he spent lost in the wilderness, he would hear the search and rescue planes flying over him, but they were unable to spot him. He suffered falls and injuries, leaving him with a black eye, a cracked wrist, and a broken heel.

“At one point I realized that maybe this is it. This is where I’m going to have to stay the rest of my life,” he said.

But that didn’t stop him from trying to find his way home.

“It kind of brought up inside me this sort of other personality that I never knew even existed, a sort of animal instinct that came in,” he said.

Living off water and plants, he kept going until, finally, he heard a familiar sound: the road.

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“I found a little, not a steep climb to the road, and I was able to … make it,” he said.

“People picked me up right away.”

The welcome he received was something he won’t soon forget.

“They saw me, they were crying, and just the memory of this happening is just such a heartwarming feeling,” he said.

“Humans are such heartwarming creatures, actually.”

Volo’s story captured the attention of many in his community. While speaking with CityNews, he was recognized and greeted multiple times.

As for whether he’ll be back out there anytime soon, he isn’t sure.

“After I got back, I said no more hiking for me for a while, but you never know what’s in my head,” he said.

“It might change.”

He may hit the trails again one day. Next time, perhaps with a map.