A tourist who got lost and spent 10 days in the mountains was found alive (8 photos)

34-year-old American Lucas McClish went on a three-hour hike in the mountains of California, but ended up getting lost and spending 10 days there. He was found in Big Basin Redwoods State Park - hungry, exhausted, but alive.





McClish went on a three-hour hike June 11 through Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek. He had few supplies and didn't tell anyone where he was going because he only planned to spend the afternoon there. He didn't even bother to put on a shirt.

“I left with a pair of pants, hiking boots and a hat,” McClish told KGO-TV. “I had a flashlight and folding scissors that looked like Leatherman, and that was it.”

During the walk, despite his hiking experience, the man got lost, straying from the planned route. He spent nine nights and ten days in the wilderness. He drank water from a stream, scooping it up with his shoe, ate wild berries and slept on wet leaves.



McClish, an experienced hiker who works in landscaping in forests affected by wildfires, said he was amazed that he got lost - and so quickly. His parents only raised the alarm when he didn't show up for lunch on Father's Day on June 16, five days after he set off. After this, large-scale search and rescue operations began involving about 300 people.





On June 20, a pair of rangers heard cries for help. A drone was sent to the scene and the man was quickly found with the help of a sniffer dog. He lost about 15 kg of weight. At the hospital, doctors removed stones from his back - he was seriously injured when he slipped and slid on his back off a rocky cliff. He also suffered from hypothermia.



McClish said he initially saw his predicament as a chance to test his survival skills:

“I'm an avid traveler, so going away for a night or two is not unusual for me. So I just went hiking. Every day I went up the canyon, went down the canyon, walked to the next waterfall, drank water from my shoe.

I felt comfortable and not worried. I was being followed by a mountain lion, but he kept his distance. I think it was just someone looking out for me."



However, by the fifth day, McClish began to worry and look for a way to return to civilization.

“I knew that if I followed the sun I would eventually get to the ocean, but I didn’t know how far away I was from it,” he said.



The fact that the area had changed dramatically as a result of the 2020 wildfire also created a problem. This made it difficult to navigate.

“That's one thing I didn't consider: when a fire comes through an area like this and destroys it, it turns into a desert and you can't find your way around,” he explained. “Traditional directional markers, such as deer trails or hiking trails, have disappeared.”



On the eighth and ninth days, after McClish injured his back and suffered hypothermia, he began screaming for help. And he constantly dreamed of food, since he was forced to survive on wild berries.

“I wanted a burrito or a taco,” he said. “That’s what I thought about every day when, after the first five days, I started to realize that I might be in over my head.”



Finally, on Thursday, at approximately 7:30 p.m., two park rangers were walking up a hill when they heard McClish screaming.

“I thought, ‘I hope this isn’t a mirage,’” he recalls.

Speaking to reporters, the man admitted that what happened did not kill his love for wild nature. But this ten-day hike will probably be enough for him for the rest of the year. That's enough for now.

Here are some lessons that can be learned from this story:

— Always tell someone your location and travel plans.

- Carry enough supplies with you, even if you are planning a short walk.

- Be prepared for unexpected situations.

- Don't panic if you get lost. Focus on survival.