From Yahoo Headlines/AP Sunday July 24
2005
Hiker Survives 5 days in Hawaiian lava
field.
WAIMEA,Hawaii
- A hiker lost for five days in a lava field near a volcano
says he survived by drinking water he squeezed from moss in a
mostly barren landscape. Gilbert Dewey Gaedcke III, 41, was
rescued Friday afternoon after a teenager on a helicopter tour
spotted him stumbling across the rocky lava, trying to attract
attention with a mirror from his camera.
Gaedcke had been
missing since Sunday night, when he decided to take a hike
across desolate lava fields near Hawaii
Volcanoes
National
Park to get a closer look at an
active volcano.
The experienced
hiker from Austin, Texas, said he saw no water,
but there were pockets of jungle-like vegetation sprinkled
throughout the old lava flow.
Gaedcke said he
crawled beneath the vines and lick moisture off leaves. Then
he found moss growing on trees, and was able to squeeze enough
water from it to drink.
"It was muddy,
green, mossy water, but it worked," he said Saturday. "If I
hadn't found that I'd be dead right
now,"
