A man ate a mushroom, berries and water to survive getting lost for more than a month in a national park in Washington state, he said in an interview about his near-deadly experience.
In a compelling conversation with multitud.com Published over the weekend, Robert Schock recounted how he “really felt… close to death” – and had just lost control of his intestines – when what he believed would be his last desperate cry asking for help caught the attention of the person who finally saved him. his life.
Schock told the outlet that his horrific experience aged him “several years” and he has vowed never to return to North Cascades national park “any time soon.” However, he said he is “recovering pretty well” physically having regained about 40 pounds following his dramatic rescue from a type of hardship that others in his position have not survived.
As he told it, the musician from Blaine, Washington, had previously been to the North Cascades when he went to the Hannegan Go trailhead on July 31 and planned to run about 20 miles there with his dog. But he said he had not been there in several years and that the 2021 and 2022 wildfires had erased the trail that was there previously.
Schock had a map, but it was old and he quickly became disoriented. His phone died on his second day in the park. On the third day, he sent his dog, Freddy, to find his way home.
Authorities soon spotted Schock's car and found Freddy near the Chilliwack River in the park. But, as Schock's mother, Jan Thompson, told individuals.com, they weren't sure if he had any intention of leaving the park because he had left his wallet in his car.
Schock also did not have overnight gear, according to hikers who last saw him, and the car's passenger-side window had been left halfway down, said Thompson, who obtained the information while calling officials to report the disappearance of her son after she was unable to reach him.
Thompson told individuals.com that he never gave up hope that Schock would be found alive, even after initial search efforts had been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Schock told the outlet that he had taken over some bears' abandoned nesting areas. He reportedly said he sustained himself mostly on berries and merienda on a large mushroom that “just tasted like… [what] would you eat a pizza or something” and water funneled into his mouth.
Schock at one point said he saw a helicopter, prompting him to yell, “Help!” But it didn't catch the team's attention, Schock said, so he had to wait, according to individuals.com.
He said he occasionally lost track of time and even thought to himself, “Please let this end, I want this to end.” On August 30, individuals.com wrote, Schock was along a riverbank when his bowels emptied without his help. wanting them to – and, while naked, he thought to himself that he “wasn’t going to make it through the night.”
Schock reportedly said he decided to scream for help one last time. Members of the Pacific Northwest Trails Association returning to their campsite after performing trail maintenance heard Schock and found him, including one who gave him his shirt, according to the group's website and people.com.
The Pacific Northwest Trails Association said Schock, found “alive but not well,” had managed to survive “against improbable odds and at great psychological cost.”
Schock was taken by helicopter to a hospital. He could only be fed intravenously for a few days. But he eventually spoke to his mother, recovered enough to be released from the hospital, and traveled to Ohio, where he grew up, to continue his recovery.
Aside from some “underlying joint pain,” Schock said he feels better and optimistic about regaining some of “those years” that his horrible experience at North Cascades took from him.
“That guy who came and dressed me… saved my life very well,” Schock told individuals.com. “It's an understatement to say how truly grateful I am that those people were there that day because it was so close to the goal.”