Lost local hiker shares amazing story of survival
Roger Dannen was lost on a Palm Springs trail for three days, surviving very tough conditions including a lack of water, the bitter cold and being hunted by a mountain lion.
Last Wednesday morning, Dannen and his longtime hiking buddy started the Jo Pond Hiking Trail for the first time. The trail starts near in Idyllwild and goes about 13 miles down the mountain to Palm Springs.
Read: Missing hiker found alive after several day search
A little ways into the hike, the two lost the trail in the snow and they ended up on a sheer rock face. “My shoe slipped and I started sliding down on my butt and about halfway down my leg caught a crack in the thing and I stopped, but I was in the middle of this rock with no way to get off of it,” Dannen said.
His hiking partner went to walk around the cliff to get help while Dannen slowly slid down.
Dannen found a stream and followed it in the dark. “All of a sudden, I hit a dropoff and it was about [4 feet] down and I hit my shoulder and fractured my shoulder at that time,” Dannen said.
Wednesday night was tough. Dannen didn’t sleep and the next day was just as bad.
“I was hallucinating and I thought I saw a van up there with a guy opening the back of it, and it turned out to be a rock,” Dannen said.
Night two was torture. Dannen could hear the helicopters searching for him, but he didn’t have a light to signal rescuers where he was. By Friday, things were looking desperate.
“The third night, I thought I might not make it out at all, because I was out of water and food for a day and a half,” Dannen said.
At about 7:30 p.m. on Friday rescuers were close.
“I heard the helicopter and I thought ‘you got to pull yourself up’ so I pulled myself up and the light shined on me. I went, ‘Oh my God they found me.’ He said ‘if you’re Roger Dannen wave your hand’ and I did. He said they would be back in 20 minutes for me,” Dannen said.
Dannen was forced to survive in the wilderness for three days and two nights.
Dannen said after he was rescued, crews found mountain lion paw prints in the dirt not far from where he was bedding down.
Dannen is recovering from his injuries and says he’s not done hiking, but from now on he’s always going to bring this solar powered light with him.
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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