A man who survived being lost in North Cascade National Park says he feels like he aged several years because of the ordeal and has no plans to return to the Washington park anytime soon.
39-year-old Robert Schock had planned to go for a run with his dog on the Chilliwack River Trail on July 31. But he says he quickly got lost because wildfires in recent years altered the terrain and trails in the area.
“When I got out there, the trail was no longer there,” Schock told People. “I was curious to know what happened to this trail and my curiosity kind of kept me going.”
He had minimal supplies—no food, not even a shirt. Throughout his time in the woods, Schock says he only ate one large mushroom and some berries to keep him going. He was starving and near-death when he was found by a trail crew on Aug. 30 along the Chilliwack River.
“I was sitting there naked and knew I wasn’t going to make it through the night,” he told People. “So I was like, ‘I’m going to scream one last time.’ I said, ‘Help!’”
Schock was airlifted to a hospital, where he spent a month recovering. He has reportedly regained about 40 pounds. He is now back in Ohio, where he grew up, with no plans to return to the North Cascades.
“I don’t want to go to that particular region for quite some time until I forget about it.”
Fortunately, his dog Freddy was found only a couple days after the pair went missing.
