A young hunter had a frightening and freezing overnight adventure in the backcountry Friday after straying from his group in the Hat Creek area.

The Surrey man in his early 20s became separated from four fellow Lower Mainland hunters 15 kilometres north of Cache Creek just before dark on Friday.

RCMP called in 15 members of Kamloops Search and Rescue (KSAR) at 1 a.m. Steady snowfall at the 1,300-metre elevation of the rugged, mountainous terrain made for a tough slog, according to Allan Hobler, search manager. The team used all terrain vehicles and four-wheel drive trucks.

In the end, Kamloops RCMP Const. Dave Lewis and his police dog Zack found the lost man at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

After spending a cold and wet night alone in the bush, he had followed a creek bed downhill to a forest service road a few hundred metres west of Highway 97 North near the Loon Lake Road turnoff.

He was ill prepared to spend a night in the bush with only a fleece top, pants and hiking boots causing him to become very wet and cold, according to Hobler.

"KSAR reminds all persons, hunters and otherwise, to be properly dressed and pack food, water and fire starting equipment when outdoors in the backcountry and maintain communications with other members of your party," he said.