"30 Days Lost in the Wilderness: A Runner's Unimaginable Fight for Survival"

[Social Media]

 

Robert Schock, a 39-year-old long-distance runner from Blaine, Washington, set out for what he intended to be a quick, 20-mile run through the North Cascades National Park. Accompanied only by his dog, Freddy, and a small backpack containing just the essentials, he was prepared for an intense but brief trail run, not the life-threatening 30-day ordeal he was about to endure. As Schock recounted, "I’m not a hiker. I don’t put on backpacks and go out for multiple-day trips. I want to finish a course as fast as I can and come back home." But his curiosity soon drew him off-course.

 

 

Schock aimed to reach the Chilliwack River Trail by way of the Copper Ridge Trail, crossing the river by cable car. What he didn't anticipate was that the map he was using was outdated, with wildfires in previous years having destroyed large portions of the trail. "When I got out there, the trail was no longer there," he explained. His instinct to investigate what had happened to the trail led him deeper into the wilderness, and before he knew it, he was lost.

 

By the second day, Schock’s cell phone had died, and the following day, he sent Freddy off in a desperate hope that his loyal companion would somehow find help. Alone and disoriented, he lost track of time. "I wasn’t doing well," he admitted. As the days went by, his situation grew more dire. With no proper supplies, he subsisted on anything he could find, which was mostly berries and mushrooms, neither of which provided much sustenance. "I ate that thing all day long, and it just tasted like a normal mushroom you would have on a pizza or something," Schock recalled, speaking of the few edible items he could locate.

 

Unbeknownst to Schock, his family had already been alerted to Freddy’s return. On August 4, the Whatcom Humane Society contacted his mother, Jan Thompson, in North Carolina to inform her that Freddy had been found, though they could not reach Schock. Her anxiety heightened when she realized that she hadn’t heard from her son since July 31, the day he had set off. Thompson quickly contacted the police, who discovered his car at the trailhead. Refusing to believe that he’d deliberately vanished, she held out hope, saying, "Honestly, I never felt he had perished in the park despite the odds."

 

Thirty days in, Schock’s situation became critical. Stricken with dysentery and physically weakened to the point of collapse, he found himself lying by the Chilliwack River, naked and hopeless. "I was sitting there naked and knew I wasn’t going to make it through the night," he said, recalling that final, desperate moment. Summoning the last of his strength, he let out one last cry for help. "Help!"

 

Miraculously, his cries reached members of the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, who were returning to their camp after trail maintenance. Schock was rescued just in time and was airlifted to a hospital where he would spend another month recovering, with his mother and stepfather by his side. “I’ve learned details of his story in bits and pieces,” Thompson shared. “Part of me doesn’t want to know because I can’t bear to think of how he suffered.”

 

The ordeal has left a profound mark on Schock. Reflecting on the experience, he remarked, "[The ordeal] has taken its toll on me, and I’ve aged several years because of it. Hopefully, I get those years back." Despite his harrowing experience, Schock hopes to return to the Pacific Northwest to continue his music career and running, although he admits he won’t be heading back to the North Cascades. Grateful to those who saved him, Schock expressed, “It is an understatement to say how truly thankful I am for those people to be there that day because it came pretty close to the finish line.”

 

Based on a report from the NYP 2024-10-30

 

 

 

[Tug]

He’s one lucky dude must have lost his mind as well to ditch his clothes,that’s not rational.

[Olmate]

Trial by trail!! Reminds me ofa great true Ozzie story from my younger years and the rugged Australian bush "Little boy lost"! 

Edited October 29 by Olmate
Add

[RichardColeman]

hmm, could he not have just ridden a log down the river ?

[herfiehandbag]

I hope that "Freddy" has received due praise for starting the ball rolling. He sounds like a good boy!

[herfiehandbag]

14 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

hmm, could he not have just ridden a log down the river ?

With nothing to eat save berries and mushrooms, I suspect that acquiring a suitable log was beyond his capacity!

[herfiehandbag]

Lucky so and so, missed virtually all the last month of the bloody election campaign!

[billd766]

I wonder why he did not carry a GPS as an essential item in his pack?

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, billd766 said:

I wonder why he did not carry a GPS as an essential item in his pack?

Probably thought he could use the one on his phone - which flattened the battery of course!

 

Old soldier In me suggests a map and compass? No battery required, works in the rain. About as essential as you get if you go off running in the "wilderness"?

[billd766]

4 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

Probably thought he could use the one on his phone - which flattened the battery of course!

 

Old soldier In me suggests a map and compass? No battery required, works in the rain. About as essential as you get if you go off running in the "wilderness"?

The old airman in me cynically says, move with the times and listen to what other people say. They are probably smarter than you. After all they didn't get lost. He did.

 

Maps get wet and disintegrate in the rain, and unless you can read an OS map and us a compass properly, the map is not that much use. Paper maps are rarely updated and as there had been a lot of wildfires in the area, paper maps will not show that.

 

In addition, a GPS has a separate power source and will not deplete your phone battery. The GPS should tell you where you are, how far you have travelled, and if you plot the waypoints and save them, you will be able to go forwards or back to a known point and find your way back to the start point. Also if you stay where you are, it is a lot easier for a rescue team to find you.

 

In addition if you tell someone who is not going with you, your route, it will also be easier for a rescue team to find you, instead of wandering around with no clue where you are or where you are going.

 

Common sense seems to be lacking in him.

Edited October 31 by billd766
added extra text

[Hummin]

On 10/30/2024 at 12:41 PM, RichardColeman said:

hmm, could he not have just ridden a log down the river ?

A canyon can be a death trap, but follow the river down streams will finely lead you to people or cabins

[georgegeorgia]

On 10/30/2024 at 4:39 AM, Olmate said:

Trial by trail!! Reminds me ofa great true Ozzie story from my younger years and the rugged Australian bush "Little boy lost"! 

Sounds creepy !

[Hummin]

11 minutes ago, billd766 said:

The old airman in me cynically says, move with the times and listen to what other people say. They are probably smarter than you. After all they didn't get lost. He did.

 

Maps get wet and disintegrate in the rain, and unless you can read an OS map and us a compass properly, the map is not that much use. Paper maps are rarely updated and as there had been a lot of wildfires in the area, paper maps will not show that.

 

In addition, a GPS has a separate power source and will not deplete your phone battery. The GPS should tell you where you are, how far you have travelled, and if you plot the waypoints and save them, you will be able to go forwards or back to a known point and find your way back to the start point. Also if you stay where you are, it is a lot easier for a rescue team to find you.

 

In addition if you tell someone who is not going with you, your route, it will also be easier for a rescue team to find you, instead of wandering around with no clue where you are or where you are going.

 

Common sense seems to be lacking in him.

Satelite messenger radios is available at decent prices. One guy I met a few times riding together, got lost in the jungle and barely made it out of there alive after 12 hours with heat stroke. Lucky some locals passed by at the right time and managed to bring him to the hospital 

 

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-locator-beacon

Edited October 31 by Hummin

[NowNow]

4 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Satelite messenger radios is available at decent prices. One guy I met a few times riding together, got lost in the jungle and barely made it out of there alive after 12 hours with heat stroke. Lucky some locals passed by at the right time and managed to bring him to the hospital 

 

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-locator-beacon

 

New iPhones (currently just in the USA) allow you to send an emergency text message via satellite if there is no mobile signal.