Two people who were stranded in Gatineau Park were rescued just before 5 o'clock Friday morning.
MRC des Collines launched a search and rescue effort looking for a 43-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman who got stranded on the snowshoe trail Thursday afternoon.
The man had injured his leg while out in the park.
Adrian Beaudin, a volunteer with Search and Rescue Global 1, came across the pair by chance while out on a night hike with a friend.
"When we found them at 12:30 they were cold," Beaudin said. "We got them into some dry clothes, made sure they ate some food. Survival in the wintertime is a calorie game."
Beaudin and his friend decided to stay with the pair until more help could arrive.
"You have a choice, if you’re driving down the road and someone has a flat tire, you have a choice to stop, it’s no different if you’re out in the woods,"he said.
The National Capital Commission started searching for the group Thursday night. Others joined the rescue efforts around midnight, including firefighters from Chelsea and a group from Search and Rescue Global 1 - a volunteer based organization that helps the Ottawa-Gatineau area through search and rescue operations.
A rescue team was able to reach the group by ground just after 6 a.m.
The 42-year old man had to be evacuated by a helicopter from the Sûreté du Québec due to the nature of his injuries. He was then taken to an ambulance waiting in a park parking lot.
He was rescued just before 8 a.m. and was transported to hospital for hypothermia, along with his female companion.
She was able to get out of the bush with Beaudin and his friend on snowmobiles.
Last week, the NCC issued a warning saying some trails in Gatineau Park were blocked by fallen trees. They recommend people stick to well-marked paths.
