Missing hiker Tiffany Slaton describes her survival trip in California mountains

The day before Tiffany Slatons 28th birthday, she was looking forward to eating a pack of Dunkaroos – cookies with icing -dip – which she had saved as a temporary birthday cake. It was the only real meal that she survived after 24 days in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and took a wild experience Leek and cooked snow.

What originally started as a three-day solo camping vacation in the Laker and Huntington Lakes in Fresno County, California, became a weekly survival trip. It ended in a cabin more than 40 miles away in the Valley Resort, where Slaton was found on Wednesday by the resort.

When she was saved, Slaton had endured 13 snow storms and climbed at heights of 11,000 feet, officials said on Friday. In addition to 10 pounds from the ordeal, she also lost her tent and sleeping bags and had to leave her bike on a trailhead sign.

At a press conference on Friday together with her parents and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni, Slaton spoke publicly about her trip for the first time. Zanoni called her story a “you would make films”.

“It is really an incredible story about perseverance, determination and survival,” added the sheriff.

Slaton, an experienced person outdoors from Jeffersonville, Georgia, was reported to be missing by her parents on April 29, after not hearing from her in nine days, the authorities said. A comprehensive surgery for the ringing of Slaton was carried out and used by 600 square kilometers from May 6th to 10th A helicopter.

In search of Slaton, the local authorities and volunteers covered 4,300 miles on foot and vehicle, said on Friday.

Slaton began her hike on April 20, equipped with Basic Camping Supplies, including an electric bike, two sleeping bags and a tent in which she would only be gone for a few days.

At the beginning of her journey, Slaton fell from a cliff, she said, and could not return to the main street due to a recent avalanche. She was passed out for about two hours and had to switch one of her legs and “put the other knee back into position”.

She tried five calls to 911 – without success – and was unable to get the navigation system of her phone up and running, she said on Friday. She asked her phone to be frustrated around the place of the next Starbucks – she gave a location of 18 miles away, which was closer than to trace her way back to the entrance to the park.

Slaton continued to press and was based on her ingenuity and what she could find in the wilderness. Her skills as an arching scarf on a high level, your medical knowledge as traveling dialysis technicians and her horticultural training proved to be decisive for their survival. She strived every day to “keep healthy”.

“The worst thing you can do in an emergency is panic,” said Slaton.

After five days, Slaton went most of her food Born in the Sierra Nevada series. She said she made tea every day with Manzanita and pine needles.

Slaton navigated the Kaiser Pass, a 9,000-foot summit that was buried below 10 to 12 feet of snow before it was plowed at the beginning of this week. She finally made her way to Valley Valley and Lake Edison, where she was finally saved.

When Slaton saw the Valley Resort’s cabin for the first time, she thought she was hallucinated and “had somehow managed to make it to the North Pole”. She opened the door that was unlocked, and inside she found what she described as “the best sleeping bag I’ve ever seen”.

Slaton was found on Wednesday – the day before her 28th birthday – by the resort owner Christopher Gutierrez. The snow plugs had cleared the streets so that he had prepared access to his property for the summer. Gutierrez informed the authorities that he had unlocked the cabin if a stranded hiker would need protection.

“That was the 13th heavy snowstorm in which I was in and it would be the last one,” said Slaton. “If he hadn’t come that day, they would have found my body there.”

Zanoni called it a “miracle” that the road was plowed on Tuesday so that Gutierrez could arrive the next day. When Slaton was found, the resort owner said that he recognized her from her report about missing person.

“She dives, did not say a word, just ran high and everything she wanted was a hug. And it was a pretty surreal moment,” said Gutierrez at a press conference on Wednesday. “And then I knew. Then I realized who that was.”