Long-Distance Runner Survives 30 Days Lost in Washington Wilderness

What started as a simple day-long run turned into a 30-day survival ordeal for Robert Schock, a 39-year-old man from Blaine, Washington, who found himself stranded in the wilderness without food, shelter, clothes, or phone service.

“This whole experience has changed me,” Schock told People. “I feel like I’ve aged a few years because of it.”

During his dramatic rescue along the banks of the Chilliwack River, a trail crew member even took the shirt off Schock’s back to help stabilize him.

On July 31, Schock had set out for a planned 20-mile trail run through North Cascades National Park with his dog, Freddy.

“I’m an ultra-runner,” he said. “I’m not a climber, I don’t go on multi-day backpacking trips, and I don’t know how to fish. My goal is always to finish and go home.” He packed lightly, wearing only shorts and bringing a dog bowl and a small backpack — no shirt, no extra supplies.

He had intended to reach the Chilliwack River Trail via the Copper Ridge Trail, using a cable car to cross the river. But what his outdated map didn’t show was that wildfires in 2021 and 2022 had destroyed large portions of the trail.

“When I got out there, the trail was just gone,” Schock recalled. “My curiosity kept pushing me forward.”

That’s when things took a turn for the worse. His phone died on the second day. On the third, he made the heartbreaking decision to send Freddy off alone in hopes the dog would find help.

Days turned into weeks. He lost track of time and was barely surviving. He found shelter in a spot once used by bears. His diet consisted of wild berries and mushrooms. “They tasted like the mushrooms you’d find on pizza,” he said. “That was all I had to eat.”

As hope faded, he screamed for help less often. Meanwhile, Freddy had been found by the Whatcom Humane Society on August 4. They contacted Schock’s mother, Jan Thompson, in North Carolina. When she realized she hadn’t heard from her son since July 31, she contacted the police. Authorities had already located his vehicle, but no one knew where he was.

Some officers speculated he had gone into the woods intentionally, but Thompson rejected that. “I never believed he died out there,” she said.

By the 30th day, Schock collapsed by the Chilliwack River, suffering from severe dysentery. “I felt like I was close to dying,” he said. “I was sitting there naked and told myself, ‘This is it.’ So I decided to scream one last time: ‘Help!’”

This time, someone heard. Members of the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, returning from trail maintenance, heard his cry and found him.

He was airlifted to a hospital, where he spent another month recovering. His mother and stepfather were by his side throughout.

“I’ve learned pieces of his story over time,” Thompson said. “Part of me doesn’t want to know everything — it’s too painful to imagine what he endured.”

Now recovering in Ohio at his father’s home, Schock says he plans to return to the Pacific Northwest to pursue his passions for music and running — but he won’t be going back to the North Cascades anytime soon.

Speaking about his rescuers, Schock said, “Saying I’m grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it. They saved me just in time.”