Lukas McClish, who had planned to go for a three-hour hike before getting lost, says he drank water from creeks, ate wild berries and slept on a bed of wet leaves during the time he was missing – and was followed by a mountain lion.
Lukas McClish, 34, was found after being lost for 10 days in the woods near Big Basin Redwood State Park, approximately 14 miles north of Santa Cruz, California. McClish was last seen on the morning of June 11 and was reported missing on June 16, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses reported hearing someone yelling for help, prompting the sheriff’s office to deploy several drones to pinpoint McClish’s location. State Parks rangers were the first to find him, and fire crews assisted in bringing him to safety on Friday.
McClish had initially set out for a brief three-hour hike before work, but ended up getting lost. “I didn’t bring anything because I thought I was doing a three-hour hike to go to work,” he explained to local media. With only a flashlight and folding scissors, he spent the following days hiking through canyons and drinking water from waterfalls. “Each day, I go up a canyon, down a canyon to the next waterfall, sit down by the waterfall, drink water out of my boot,” he recounted.
Despite the ordeal, McClish stated he felt “comfortable the whole time I was out there” and “wasn’t worried about it.” He mentioned encountering a mountain lion that kept its distance. “I think it was just somebody watching over me,” he said.
During his time in the wilderness, McClish survived by drinking water from creeks, eating wild berries, and sleeping on beds of wet leaves while continuously yelling for help. Reflecting on his experience, he said, “I want a burrito or a taco bowl. 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.”
Fortunately, McClish emerged without major injuries and was reunited with his family. The sheriff’s office praised the collaborative effort that led to his rescue, stating, “This truly was a team effort with the best outcome we could have hoped for.”
