Tiffany Slaton, 28, said he has always had a love for the search for fodder, gardening and outdoor adventures.
But their survival instincts and their knowledge of nature were tested when it was lost in the mountains of Fresno, California, for almost three weeks and was finally found alive on Wednesday.
Slaton spoke with journalists during a press conference on Friday about his experience that began as a three -day solo camp trip and ended as a survival mission.
“You may never do a holiday for more than three days,” he said on Friday.
Tiffany Slaton speaks after surviving in the mountains of Fresno, California, for almost three weeks.
Pool through ABC News
Slaton, from Jeffersonville, Georgia, was first reported by his parents on April 29 after they had not had their news for nine days, authorities said.
At the beginning of his camp trip, he told reporters how he had fallen from a cliff and became unconscious for two hours, hurting both legs in the process. Slaton, who is a trained and “pre-pool” horticulturist “in arc, then proceeded to falter one of his legs and” put another knee in his place, “he said.
Due to a recent avalanche, he could not return to the main road and was not successful when he reached 911 due to the lack of cell service.
Therefore, he began his “long and hard trip” of trying to return to civilization, which included fighting animals, surviving in leeks and boiled snow, walking with spikes up to 11,000 feet high and suffering through 13 heavy snow storms, he said.
“Nature is quite terrifying. Once you start finding things that are afraid for you, you do everything possible to continue moving and overcome it.” Slaton said.
Although he began his “vacation” with a tent, two sleeping bags and his bicycle, he could only hold on to a light and a knife during most of his trip.
Throughout his time alone in the desert, he continued thinking that he would prefer to “live than to have to deal with my parents to see that he failed in such a silly way” and that he was determined to meet with his family before his birthday, which was Thursday.
Tiffany Slaton was found alive after being missing for three weeks in Fresno, California, according to the police.
Fresno County Sheriff Office
From May 6 to 10, officials made search and rescue efforts in search of the 28 -year -old, said the police. But with a search that covers almost 600 square miles and without confirmed sightings since April 24, the police said they had decided on Tuesday to climb their efforts.
Then, on Wednesday, his parents, Bobby and Fredrina Slaton, received a phone call from no less than their daughter Tiffany, saying: “Dad, I’m alive.”
The missing caravan had fought through a snowstorm and found refuge in a unlocked cabin in a resort near Lake Edison, authorities said.
The authorities said that the owner of the Christopher Gutiérrez complex had “left an unlocked cabin as a precautionary measure for this exact situation in which someone who is lost could seek refuge and increase their possibilities to survive the elements outdoors and hard climate.”
When he met this cabin, Slaton said he thought he was hallucinating and had “managed to reach the North Pole.”
“When the door opened, I saw the best sleeping bag in the world,” Slaton said.
Gutierrez discovered Slaton when he arrived at the resort to open the place for summer, he told reporters on Wednesday.
“As soon as I saw her, she didn’t say a word, she just ran and all she wanted was a hug. It was a rather surreal moment,” Gutierrez said.
Slaton said: “If I hadn’t come that day, they would have found my body there.”
Gutiérrez said he knew that there had been a hiker missing in the area and called the Sheriff’s office to say that Slaton had found.
Slaton told Gutierrez that “all I wanted was a peanut butter and jam sandwich.”
The deputies confirmed that the woman was Slaton, who was later examined by doctors and treated for dehydration, according to the officials.
The authorities said Slaton, whom they described as a “fighter”, was found approximately 45 miles where he was last seen.
Slaton, who wore sunglasses during the press conference, said he has experienced eye damage due to snowy conditions along with some minor cuts and burns. He also said he had lost about 10 pounds after being in the desert for 20 days, but his blood test returned “perfect” due to his feeding skills.
Fredrina Slaton said she is “very proud” of his daughter’s survival, but “she will be more proud when she receives a GPS.”
Tiffany Slaton will travel back to Georgia with his family while continuing to recover. She said she revealed all the adventure and plans to go through that documentation while adapting to reality.
