A missing Northern California hiker is back home after spending more than a week in the mountains, and the heartfelt reunion was all captured in photos. as reported by BBC.
Lukas McClish, 34, recounted his harrowing experience after spending 10 days in the Santa Cruz Mountains. On Tuesday, June 11, McClish set out for a three-hour hike from his hometown of Boulder Creek. He became lost and disoriented, unable to recognize landmarks that had been altered by recent fires.
When he failed to show up for Father’s Day dinner, he was declared missing on Sunday, June 16. Four days later, McClish was rescued.
“I’m tired and a little sore, I lost my voice,” McClish said.
During an interview on Friday, McClish shared details about his limited supplies. “I left with just a pair of pants, my hiking shoes, and a hat. I had a flashlight and a pair of folding scissors, like a Leatherman tool. And that was about it,” he said. report from ABC7.
Fortunately, the sheriff’s office reported that McClish had no major injuries. McClish explained that he survived by drinking lots of water. “I made sure I drank a gallon of water every day, but near the end, my body needed food and some kind of sustenance,” he said.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deployed drones in the search, with assistance from the Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit, the Boulder Creek Fire Department, and CA State Parks. On Thursday around 3 p.m., witnesses reported hearing someone yelling for help. McClish was found in a remote canyon in Big Basin State Park.
Seeing the extensive search effort moved McClish deeply. “It was just really humbling and, I don’t know, it was an awesome experience,” he said.
Both McClish and his family are immensely grateful for all the help they received and have no immediate plans to return to hiking. “I did enough hiking for probably the whole rest of the year,” McClish joked. “Me too,” his dad added.
