I disappeared into the woods for 30 days — what I experienced before rescue took years off my life

A long-distance runner was mislaid for 30 days successful nan wilderness of Washington authorities earlier his rescue from nan brink of death.

What was expected to beryllium a day-long excursion for Robert Schock, 39, became a month-long conflict for his life pinch nary food, shelter, clothing aliases compartment telephone service.

“[The ordeal] has taken its toll connected me,” Schock told People, “and I’ve aged respective years because of it.”

“Hopefully, I get those years back.”

The musician from Blaine, Washington had planned connected a 20-mile way tally erstwhile he arrived astatine North Cascades National Park pinch his dog, Freddy, connected July 31.

“I americium an ultra runner,” Schock said successful an exclusive interview. “I’m not a hiker. I don’t put connected backpacks and spell retired for multiple-day trips. I don’t cognize really to fish. I want to decorativeness a people arsenic accelerated arsenic I tin and travel backmost home. So I had nary shirt. I had a brace of shorts, I had Freddy and a canine pan. These were nan only items successful my mini backpack.”

Schock wasn’t prepared for his curiosity to lead him truthful acold astray.

He had group retired to spot them for nan Chilliwack River Trail by measurement of nan Copper Ridge Trail, traversing complete nan stream by cablegram car. However, his outdated representation did not relationship for nan wildfires successful 2021 and 2022 which took retired parts of nan trail

“When I sewage retired there, nan way was nary longer there,” Schock said. “I was funny to cognize what happened to this way and my curiosity benignant of kept maine going.”

This was nan constituent astatine which he’d mislaid his way.

His compartment telephone died connected nan 2nd day. On nan 3rd day, sent his canine to find their home.

Schock began to suffer way of time. “I wasn’t doing well.” 

He recovered a nesting grounds formerly housed by bears. He subsisted connected what he could find.

“I ate that point each time long, and it conscionable tasted for illustration a normal mushroom you would person connected a pizza aliases something,” he says. “It was nan only point I had to eat nan full clip different than berries, they were beautiful nasty.”

Schock confessed that his cries for thief grew little predominant arsenic nan days passed — arsenic he began to springiness up hope.

Meanwhile, connected Aug. 4, nan Whatcom Humane Society successful Washington authorities called Schock’s mother, Jan Thompson, successful North Carolina, reporting that they’d recovered Freddy but could not scope Schock. Thompson realized past she had besides not heard from her boy aft he missed her erstwhile telephone connected July 31.

From crossed nan country, she had nary thought her boy had planned to spell connected a run. On Aug. 5, she called nan Whatcom constabulary department, who soon informed her his car had already been found.

Thompson refused to officers who suggested her boy had gone into nan woods connected purpose.  knew that wasn’t nan case,” she said. “Honestly, I ne'er felt he had perished successful nan parkland contempt nan odds.” 

By time 30, he had collapsed by nan slope of nan Chilliwack River pinch terrible dysentery and “really felt for illustration I was adjacent to death,” he told People.

“I was sitting location naked and knew I wasn’t going to make it done nan night,” he said. “So I was like, ‘I’m going to shriek 1 past time.’ I said, ‘Help!’ ”

This time, his cries were heard: Members of nan Pacific Northwest Trail Association were returning to their campy aft performing attraction activity connected a way erstwhile Schock yelled for nan past time.

He was soon airlifted to a infirmary wherever he spent different period convalescing, during which clip his mother and stepfather came to beryllium by his side.

“I’ve learned specifications of his communicative successful bits and pieces,” Thompson said. “Part of maine doesn’t want to cognize because I can’t carnivore to deliberation of really he suffered.”

Schock’s betterment continues now successful Ohio wherever he grew up, astatine nan location of his begetter and stepmother.

He told People that he plans to return to nan Pacific Northwest to proceed his philharmonic aspirations, and moving — though obscurity adjacent North Cascades, he admitted.

Of nan first responders and rescuers who recovered his almost lifeless body, Schock said, “It is an understatement to opportunity really genuinely thankful I americium for those group to beryllium location that time because it came beautiful adjacent to nan decorativeness line.”