Hiker survives week lost in wilderness by using rocks for warmth

A 73-year-old California hiker who spent a week lost in the wilderness said he survived by using rocks for warmth.

Eugene Jo spent his week-long ordeal cozied up to rocks heated by the daytime sun after he was separated June 22 from his hiking group in the San Gabriel Mountains, news station KCBS reported.

“He would wrap his jacket around him and the beach towel that he had with him,” said Janet Henderson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue. “He got in close next to the hot rocks because it is very hot up there and those rocks do heat up and that’s how he kept himself warm at night.”

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The hiker told authorities he stayed hydrated with water from a riverbed.

He was located Saturday after disappearing while hiking with a group to the 8,000-foot peak of Mount Waterman. Jo heard the voices of one of the search and rescue teams looking for him and called to them, authorities said.

“He said it took everything he had to roll over his hands and knees and yell for help and that’s when the rescuers heard him,” Henderson said.

Jo was airlifted to a hospital in Pasadena and discharged the following day, KCBS reported.

“He’s back home, resting and pretty much his old self,” his family told the news station. “The family thanks everyone for their support, especially every volunteer who came to help. He didn’t realize that so many people were looking for him and the extent of where they came from all over the state and became emotional when he found out just how many.”