Lukas McClish’s family have said they are ‘thankful, blessed and relieved’ after he survived 10 days lost in remote California mountains by drinking water from his boot and eating berries.
The shirtless hiker, 34, had set out on a three-hour walk through the Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek on June 11 after he visited a friend who told him there were rare granite outcroppings in the area.
Lukas did not tell anyone where he was going and had only brought a few supplies because he only planned to be out for the afternoon.
Speaking out on the ordeal after Lukas was rescued on June 20, his mother, Diane, told 5 KALB that some nights she ‘just had to trust God that he was going to be okay’ which was often difficult as she worried about where her son was sleeping and how cold it was.
The hiker drank water from a creek out of his walking boot, ate wild berries, and slept on a wet bed of leaves as he desperately yelled for help.
Hiker Lukas McClish’s family said they are ‘thankful, blessed, and relieved’ following his rescue after he went missing in remote California mountains for 10 days and nine nights
His parents (pictured) grew worried when he did not show up for Fathers’ Day and filed a missing persons report. This was already 5 days after he had vanished. He was found another five days later
The moment that Mr McClish was reunited him with his family on June 20 after disappearing on June 11
Lukas is hugged by his mother and sister after he was heard calling for help
Finally, after a 10-day wait, someone heard his cries and called the emergency services, allowing Lukas to finally be reunited with his family.
‘I met a lot of people I had a lot of people tell me how much they love my son and how they just hoped we would find him,’ his mother said.
‘I didn’t realise that so many people in this town loved him,’ she added.
Also speaking to ABC 7 Chicago, following Lukas’ return home, the family said they are feeling grateful for all the help they received throughout the ordeal.
‘We’re so thankful and blessed,’ his mom said, while resting a hand on her son’s shoulder.
The family revealed added that due to Lukas’ recent 10-day horror, they would not be hitting the trails again anytime soon.
‘I did enough hiking for probably the rest of the year,’ Lukas chimed in.
On June 11, Lukas left his home with a pair of pants, his hiking shoes, and a hat, he told KGO-TV.
‘I had a flashlight and a pair of folding scissors, like a Leatherman tool – and that was about it.’
Lukas, an experienced hiker who does landscaping in forests razed by wildfires, said he was ‘astounded’ that he got lost – and so quickly.
But the alarm was only raised by his parents when he failed to turn up for lunch on Father’s Day on June 16 – five days after he set off.
The 34-year-old was rescued from the Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek, California
The moment McClish emerged from the Santa Cruz Mountains having survived by drinking water from his boot
Lukas said he initially considered the predicament a chance to test his survival skills. He said he spent five days fantasising about eating burritos or taco bowls
A three-hour hike in the Big Basin Redwoods State Park looking for a granite outcrop led to ten days lost and a near death experience
‘I just made sure I drank a gallon of water every day, but then after, getting close to the end of it, my body needed food and some kind of sustenance,’ he said.
At one point a mountain lion began following him and things got worse on day eight when he came down with hypothermia and slipped while going over a rock face.
So decided to shout: ‘Help, help, I’m over here’ for around 48 hours before several of the 300 rangers searching for him heard him.
A drone was sent up and he was quickly found with the help of a sniffer dog. And remarkably he only needed one night in hospital before he could return home to his family, who had been waiting for him at the forest’s edge when he was rescued.
The area in which he was hiking had been razed in the CZU Lightning Complex fire of 2020 and ‘looks completely different from all of the other terrain,’ he explained.
‘That’s one thing I didn’t take into consideration – when the fire comes through like that and decimates it, it turns into the desert and you’re unable to find your bearings.’
The typical markers to indicate direction, such as deer trails or hiking paths, were gone.
But at first, Lukas considered his predicament a chance to test his survival skills, according to the New York Times.
‘I’m an avid backpacker, so for me to go out for a night or two is not out of the norm,’ he told the Times.
On that first cold night, though, Lukas tried to build himself a camp – but the brush he used to start a fire was wet.
Lukas says that he hasn’t given up on hiking – but may not go again in 2024
The Big Basin Redwoods State Park was hit by a wildfire in August that burned roughly 97 percent of the parks 18,224 acres
He then hiked across a canyon for better shelter, and the next day set out to find a stream he thought would be nearby.
‘So I just kind of hiked,’ Lukas told WDBJ. ‘Each day I go up a canyon, down a canyon, to the next waterfall, drank water out of my boot.’
‘I felt comfortable every time I was out there,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t worried about it.’
‘I had a mountain lion that was following me, but it was cool,’ Lukas added. ‘It kept its distance.
‘I think it was just somebody watching over me.’
But by day five, Lukas started to grow concerned – and tried to find a way back to civilization.
‘I knew if I kept following the sun, I’d get to the ocean eventually, but I didn’t know how far from the ocean I was,’ he said.
Meanwhile, his family began to worry when he did not show up for Father’s Day, and filed a missing person’s report.
That sparked a massive manhunt, involving nearly 300 people and emergency personnel from several agencies.
The missing persons report sparked a massive, nearly 300-person manhunt for the missing hiker
McClish was finally found when park rangers heard his cries for help
The Boulder Creek Fire Department deployed a drone and spotted him, while a dog tracked him down
As search efforts continued, Lukas started shouting for help as he experienced hypothermia and slipped while going over a rock face.
‘Help, help, I’m over here,’ he remembers screaming over and over during days eight and nine, along with ‘Is anybody out there?’
At the same time, Lukas said he kept dreaming about his next meal as he was forced to survive on wild berries.
‘I wanted a burrito or a taco bowl,’ he said. ‘That’s what I thought about every day when I, after the first five days, when I started to kind of realize that I might be in over my head.’
Finally, at around 7.30pm on Thursday, two park rangers were making their way up a hill and heard Lukas’ screams.
‘I’m thinking, I hope this isn’t a mirage,’ Lukas recounted.
But the Boulder Creek Fire Department soon deployed a drone and spotted him, while a dog tracked him down.
He was then escorted out of the wilderness by police, and was reunited with his anxious family.