Craig Berg said he still has “some things to sort out” from the harrowing experience
Credit: Isle Royale National Park/Facebook (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Craig Berg was missing on a Michigan island for 11 days while on a solo hike
- He recalled calling for help about 10,000 times
- Berg was eventually found in an “injured and hypothermic” condition
A 70-year-old hiker who was missing on a Michigan island for over a week is opening up about his harrowing story of survival.
Craig Berg became lost on Sept. 2 while on a solo hike at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. He was found by Michigan State Police troopers and backpackers 11 days later, on Sept. 12.
The hiker opened up about what he went through in an interview with The Zealand Herald, estimating that he probably shouted the words “Help! I’m lost!” about 10,000 times.
Berg arrived for his trip on Aug. 27 and says he got lost on a trail four days later— and after falling into a swamp that he fell in a swamp that was “like quicksand,” he lost his phone.
Credit: Berg Family
Over the next 11 days, the hiker survived on his limited supply of freeze-dried food and by drinking “the most disgusting water that you could imagine.”
At times, he recalled only being able to eat every other day due to dwindling supplies, running out of fuel for his camp stove and drinking from “a little pond that moose drank from.”
Thankfully, he had chlorine tablets to treat the water.
On the day the man was found, he heard noises coming from a nearby lake.
Berg shouted, once more, “Help! I’m lost,” and two men in kayaks found him. They then got in contact with the officials leading the search and a US Coast Guard crew rescued him via helicopter.
The National Park Service informed his wife Debbie that he was found, and she texted Craig’s son, daughter and elderly parents to share the good news.
Credit: Isle Royale National Park/Facebook
She went to the hospital with their son Evan and the family had an emotional reunion.
“I was just bawling my eyes out,” the hiker said. “I’ve been crying a lot.”
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The man said he now has “some things to sort out” from the experience.
“Physically, I’m okay. Mentally, I’m still processing. Emotionally, I’m getting there, but I have a ways to go still,” he shared.
Officials said in a press release that Berg was found in an “injured and hypothermic” condition.
Evan previously recalled the very moment his stepmother told him that his dad `was found.
“I yelled at the top of my lungs, ‘He’s alive!’ People looked at me, and oh, man, it was a wonderful feeling,” he told WDIV Local 4.
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