Calif. hiker missing in Santa Cruz mountains for 10 days drank a gallon of water out of boot daily to survive

A California hiker who was lost for 10 days while exploring the Santa Cruz Mountains drank a gallon of water out of his boot a day before he was finally rescued last week, according to reports.

Lukas McClish, 34, didn’t even put on a shirt when he began his hike on June 11 that was supposed to last only three hours before he quickly couldn’t find his way and was reported missing six days later when he didn’t show up for a Father’s Day dinner, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported.

“I left with just a pair of pants, and my pair of hiking shoes, and a hat. I had a flashlight, and a pair of folding scissors, like a Leatherman tool. And that was about it,” the Boulder Creek resident told the station on Friday.

He drank water he found from natural sources to keep going. And lots of it.

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“I just make 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, per ABC 7 LA.

“I go up a canyon, down a canyon to the next waterfall and sit down by the waterfall and drink water out of my boot,” McClish also said, according to KSBW.

The lost hiker, who also reportedly ate wild berries, said he would sleep on wet leaves as he screamed for help.

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“Just help, help. I’m over here,” he told the station. “Or is anybody out there? I want a burrito and a taco bowl, that’s what I thought about every day when after the first five days, when I started to kind of realize that I might be in over my head.”

McClish told ABC 7 LA he struggled to navigate because certain landmarks were wiped out by recent wildfires in northern California.

Multiple agencies scoured the area before he was finally located in Big Basin State Parks Thursday afternoon.

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“There were multiple reports of witnesses hearing someone yelling for help, but the location of that person was hard to establish,” the Cal Fire San Mateo – Santa Cruz department said in a social media post.

McClish said he was a little sore and lost his voice, but otherwise didn’t suffer any injuries.

He told ABC 7 LA he was grateful when he saw all the boot prints and paw prints on the ground of first responders looking for him.

“It was just really humbling and I don’t know, it was an awesome experience,” McClish said.

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