Three stranded kayakers had a unique rescue Tuesday morning when they were recovered by a Canadian Forces helicopter.

The trio had planned a two-hour paddle along the Wheaton River, said Shane Yarborough, one of the three, but ended up spending 18 hours outdoors after getting lost north of Millhaven Bay.

When they didn’t return from their trip on time, Yarborough said their employer (Packer Expeditions in Skagway, Alaska) called the RCMP.

The RCMP contacted Canadian Armed Forces, in the territory to conduct training as part of Operation Nanook, a northern sovereignty operation.

Major Luc Vermette, flight commander of Edmonton’s 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, said his crew was out in a Bell CH-146 Griffon running exercises near Haines Junction when he heard about the lost paddlers.

“We felt rather confident that if we didn’t show up, people were going to look for us,” said Yarborough on Wednesday. “But we just didn’t even know where we were ... that was the scary bit of the thing.”

Vermette said his crew and one other helicopter expected to spend the whole day searching the area near Bennett Lake, but location information passed along by the RCMP helped narrow the search, and the Griffon found the trio around 10:30 a.m., after roughly 90 minutes.

Vermette said search and rescue isn’t the Griffon’s primary role (though Vermette’s crew also rescued a B.C. hiker with a broken leg two years ago), but the aircraft and its four-person crew are capable of it.

In this case, he said the paddlers were well-equipped, and had moved to high ground to set up a tent and build a fire. That fire helped guide the Griffon toward their site. So too did their frantic waving.

“Either they know they’re being rescued, or they just really like helicopters,” said Vermette.

Yarborough and his party were hungry and thirsty and, said Vermette, because they were wearing sandals, their feet were turning blue, putting them on the edge of hypothermia, but there were no injuries.

“It was the best possible result considering the circumstances,” he said.