Coast Guard Rescues 70-Year-Old Hiker After 11 Days Lost on Isle Royale
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 19
Coast Guard Rescues 70-Year-Old Hiker After 11 Days Lost on Isle Royale
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 19
Summary
Two kayakers spotted Craig Berg on his 11th day missing near Intermediate Lake, triggering a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescue from remote Isle Royale National Park.
Berg, 70, said he wandered off a poorly marked trail near Chickenbone Lake, fell into a swamp, lost his satellite-capable phone and spent hours trying to regain the trail before sheltering overnight wet and exposed.
For 11 days, he rationed freeze-dried food, treated pond and bog water with chlorine tablets, collected rainwater and even rigged an MP3-player wire into an antenna to hear weather reports from Thunder Bay.
Back home, his wife Debbie pressed officials to expand a search she feared was too limited for the 207-square-mile park; Berg was hospitalized with hypothermia but released after several hours of testing.
Berg said the ordeal left him emotionally shaken and wishing he had carried a backup locator, while his family has urged him to keep future adventures closer to home.