Eyewitness News LA reports that on Black Friday, Allison Scott and her boyfriend Freddie Valdivia were camping in the San Bernardino National Forest when they found a man in distress. "We were underneath a flight path and an airplane went by pretty low and we heard someone yelling for help," she explains.
Freddie called out to the man to let him know that they could see him. "He had a stick with a water bottle on it trying to signal,” Scott recalls. “He couldn't walk. His feet were extremely swollen and infected just from walking so much, and possibly the cold where he was." When they reached the man, who identified himself as Eric, he explained that he went out for a hike by himself and got lost in the wilderness for two weeks and had been living off a half-empty jar of salsa. He had started his hike in Oceanside which is about a 30 hour walk from where he was found. He had crawled to a flight path in hopes that a passing plane would see him and his stick.
Thankfully Eric had 2 bottles of water and half a jar of salsa when he left as he planned on hiking for about 4 hours. When he realized he was lost he rationed himself about a spoon of salsa per day. When his water was gone he found a stream to drink from.
The campers called 911 and within a few minutes a San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department rescue helicopter arrived and evacuated the man, who was reportedly suffering from “minor injuries,” to a waiting ambulance. Before parting, Eric told Scott that he was sorry he spoiled their camping trip and that he wanted to treat them to dinner if they ever made it to Oceanside.
It's really incredible to consider how much punishment a human being can survive. Authorities say Eric has been released from the hospital and is buying a cell phone in case he decides to go hiking again.