Medford, Ore. — Two hikers are safe after going missing in the Applegate Lake area for two days.
Search and Rescue crews found 60 year-old Keith Hoover and 23 year-old Julie Swisher Sunday. Both were hungry and Hoover was extremely dehydrated.
Hoover said the two left with their dog, Blue, Tuesday for what they thought would be a quick and easy hike to Frog Pond Gulch. But they never made it to their campground.
“The original trail we were supposed to take was 3.1 miles and we didn’t take 3.1 miles. We got on a different trail that day,” Hoover said.
A wrong trail turned 3.1 miles into 60. And when they didn’t meet their friend at the planned pick up time Friday the search was on.
Siskiyou, Jackson, and Josephine County Search and Rescue Crews and the National Guard Helicopter were all on the look out.
“We were off the grid for about two days,” Hoover said.
Hoover said they knew they were lost right away, but didn’t know just how turned around they actually were.
“We knew we were in a mess, but to be honest we thought up until Friday that we’d walk our way out,” he said.
But Friday came and went and the two were still lost in dangerous terrain without food, and Hoover was extremely sick with dehydration.
Focused on getting home they finally made it to a campground on Sunday afternoon and other hikers alerted search and rescue.
Swisher was able to walk out, but Hoover was too weak.
“They came in running into my camp area, saw me, shouted my name, and asked how I was doing. I told them not very good I was pretty much very sick at the time vomiting so they decided there needed to be an airlift,” Hoover said.
Now back home, Hoover has some hiking tips.
He said always make sure you take more than enough food and water because you never know when a wrong turn could extend your journey.
And always let someone back home know where you’re going and how long you plan on being gone.
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