Robert Schock, a 39-year-old wanderer without a permanent address, set off for a day run in the North Cascades at the end of July with minimal supplies and his dog — and never returned to the trailhead.
Family members and first responders were alerted to his disappearance in early August. After extensive searches of the remote, mountainous area, including by helicopter, most believed he would likely not be found alive.
But on Aug. 30, young crew members of the Pacific Northwest Trail Association discovered Schock, dangerously emaciated and unable to move but still alive, lying on the rocky bank of the Chilliwack River. His rescue has been called improbable, amazing and heroic.
The man who spent a month lost in the North Cascades without food or shelter recounted his ordeal in an interview with Cascadia Daily News this week at a local hospital.
Into the backcountry
On July 31, Schock left the Hannegan Trailhead just outside North Cascades National Park for a run with only a day pack and his dog, a handsome chocolate lab named Freddy. The area is “one of his favorite places in the world,” although, he conceded, he may not be returning to the Chilliwack River Trail anytime soon.
Schock was in an adventurous mood and wanted to piece together a big loop, possibly by way of Copper Ridge, which has stunning views of the North Cascade range. A generally nomadic person, he once lived in Mount Vernon and has hiked and camped in the Mount Baker area in the past.
Around 7 miles down the Chilliwack River Trail, Schock used a cable car suspended above the river to pull himself to the east bank, where he was disoriented by the changed scenery — the Bear Creek Fire of 2021 and the Chilliwack Complex fires in 2022 had forced the long-term closure of the eastern part of the trail, and the burns had greatly reshaped the terrain with washouts, downed trees, snags and overgrown tread.
Schock said he observed a trail sign directing him to the international border, less than 20 miles away, but he wondered if it had been tampered with because it seemed to point south. His phone’s GPS proved worthless — no service, no signal — but he soldiered on.
He decided he was on a mission of discovery to reach Canada, despite the treacherous travel. At one point he tramped down to the river to drink water and got his shoes wet. When he removed them to dry out, he said, the river washed them away. Barefoot, he encountered numerous obstacles to passage but continued on.
“My mind persisted in going north despite my injured feet,” he said. “It was stupid, immature and amateur to keep going forward when I still had the energy to get back.”
Early on, he told his dog to head home. The lab complied but couldn’t cross the Chilliwack — he was found on the east side of the river, hungry and with sore paws, by a National Park Service employee several days later.
Schock’s mother, Jan Thompson, lives in North Carolina. She had spoken to him on the phone the night before his run, and asked him to call her when he left the woods.
“He’s pretty self-reliant and does his own thing, so usually I don’t worry, but I did start to worry when he never called,” Thompson said. “And then they found his dog and his car, and I worried for a whole month.”
Survival
It was around the three-day mark that Schock’s “discovery adventure” turned into a survival attempt, he said. He had a puncture wound in his big toe and was growing increasingly disoriented and hungry — he hadn’t packed any supplies, and the scattered bushes clinging to the hillside provided only a few sour berries. He ate one large mushroom, knowing it was a risky decision, and said the nourishment gave him the energy to turn south and attempt to retrace his steps.
During his days of wandering, he saw what he believed to be the same helicopter circling twice and heard one chainsaw buzzing in the distance, but that was the only evidence he wasn’t alone in the remote reaches of the North Cascades, aside from bald eagles and a few incurious bears.
But a search was underway.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies and North Cascades National Park rangers performed detailed ground searches on three separate days in August. On Aug. 16, U.S. Border Patrol flew over Chilliwack Basin and did another ground sweep, looking for signs of Schock, to no avail.
Schock had collapsed on the riverbank only 11 or so miles from the trailhead and less than half a mile from a horse ford, unluckily tucked out of sight of the rare passerby. He yelled for help every day and night, and no one answered.
Incapacitated by hunger and pain and unable to use his legs, he didn’t move for nearly two weeks, by his estimate. During the day he basked in the sun, fantasized about burgers and fries, drank river water and napped. He never slept through the night, hyperventilating to keep warm and using his backpack as his only shield against the biting cold. Storms rolled through and drenched him with icy sheets of rain.
He was coherent for the entire experience, he said, at least until the final hours of his ordeal. By that time, Schock had lost control of his bowels and had shucked off his last remaining piece of clothing. He grew colder than ever before and began to believe this would be the night he died.
How he was finally found
The dire thought inspired one last burst of weak cries for help, which is what alerted the young trail crew members with the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, a nonprofit that helps maintain and manage the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. They were returning to camp after a strenuous 10-hour day of hauling material and reestablishing trail tread using only hand tools.
Miles Cottingham, one of the trail workers who found Schock, told Thompson his story. Cottingham was in the right place at the right time, separated slightly from his crewmates and able to distinguish the sound of the plaintive calls over the group’s conversations and the rushing water.
“That’s the most amazing part of all this,” Thompson said. “Rob had no strength left, but they were able to connect, or it would have been over for him.”
Schock said he perceived the crew as a pack of wolves creeping down the river rocks toward him, until his vision cleared and he recognized them as people. They gave him small bites of a tortilla smothered in peanut butter and jelly and covered him with jackets. He was overcome by the sensation of being warm and full for the first time in a month.
The seasonal trail crew workers had Wilderness First Responder training but were not Search & Rescue team members or medical professionals. Jeff Kish, the PNTA executive director, praised their heroism and resilience in a Facebook post on Sept. 4.
“There is nothing that can fully prepare anyone to handle the mental and emotional burden of providing aid to someone like Robert under the circumstances that they found him in,” Kish wrote. “They saved [his] life against improbable odds, and at great psychological toll.”
The team called in a helicopter to short-haul Schock out of the backcountry. Fifty pounds underweight and in shock, he was taken to the hospital in Sedro-Woolley, where he was carefully reintroduced to food intravenously. His recovery from extreme deprivation and exposure to the elements has been slow — his legs are still weak and pain from his damaged feet radiates through his body at night — but he’s feeling better and coming to terms with the experience.
“Many times I’ve placed myself in situations where I’d question if I’d ever make it back, and always did, usually through the aid of another who would come along and save me,” he said ruefully. “I had a cocky attitude about it. This time was different. I knew, based on where I was, that the likelihood of help was almost zero. I was ready to die out there.”
His mother confirmed this was not the first time Schock had wandered off without adequate preparation. “He’s always been kind of carefree and doesn’t necessarily think about the consequences of what he does,” Thompson said.
What’s next?
Once he is discharged from the hospital, his father and stepmother will take him to Ohio. There he will be reunited with his dog Freddy, who was retrieved from the Whatcom Humane Society by his sister and her husband.
A self-described “musician who doesn’t make any money,” Schock is feeling motivated to write about his experience and the twists and turns of life that led him into the backcountry. He said he’s keeping some parts of his tale to himself until he finds the best way to share them.
“I’m not proud, but I learned what I’m capable of,” he said. “The fact that I lived is remarkable, even to myself.”
His mother believes Schock’s time spent outside wasn’t an entirely negative experience.
“He’s a loner. He doesn’t mind solitude,” Thompson said. “You or I, alone for a month out there, we’d go nuts, but his personality can handle that. I think that’s how he survived so long.”
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
