For more than a week, Luke McClish wandered aimlessly through the forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, California. He did it without food or the necessary equipment. His only source of survival was to drink a gallon of water every day. The 34-year-old man had left his home on the morning of Tuesday, June 11, with the intention of taking a walk immersed in Californian nature.
“I left with a pair of pants, my hiking shoes and a hat. “All I had was a flashlight and some folding scissors as a tool, and that was it,” McClish told ABC News. However, the walk that was planned to last a couple of hours turned into an odyssey. His family reported him missing five days later, because he did not show up to a dinner to celebrate Father’s Day.
Rescue teams found him last Thursday and used drones to locate him. They searched for him all over Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This park is known for its impressive redwood trees that can exceed 300 feet (approximately 91 meters) in height and many of which are more than 1,000 years old, which made the search a complex task.
Ten days passed from the last time he was seen until finally, on Thursday, June 20, after multiple reports of witnesses reporting hearing a person calling for help in the woods, the San Mateo Fire Department, the Department of California Parks, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and volunteers from the Boulder Creek organization managed to rescue Luke McClish. At the time he was found he had no significant injuries.
McClish told local media that to survive he made sure to drink at least a gallon of water every day using his boot as a utensil, but after several days, his body needed food. During the 10 days he was missing, McClish lost 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms).
An article published in the United States National Library of Medicine states that a human being can survive several weeks without food, but most people They can only live between two and four days without water. However, the amount of time a person can survive without eating food depends on a variety of factors, including sex, body composition, and the last dish eaten and drunk.
Despite being in pain, exhausted and voiceless, Luke McClish and his family have expressed deep gratitude to everyone who participated in his rescue. McClish, visibly shaken by the experience, said that hiking will be out of his plans for the moment: “I’ve done enough hiking to last me probably the rest of the year,” he said with a forced smile.
Situations like the one McClish faced highlight the importance of preparation, even for short hikes. That is why the American Hiking Society recommends always carrying a map and compass and learning how to use them, even in familiar areas. Additionally, he suggests carrying an emergency whistle, as it could be crucial to the survival of those lost in the wild. These basic precautions can make the difference between a safe hike and an emergency situation.
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