It was Andy who prompted Mike at the last moment to change the route. As podcast creator Mr. Ballenas recounts: “They and Andy had climbed to about 13,000 feet (around 4000 meters) and were walking on icy mountain spots; due to walking on sharp ice, Andy’s paws were badly scratched and hurting. On the fourth day, Mike noticed that Andy was whining and struggling to follow him, although the dog was usually very energetic.”
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Mike decided to take an alternative path around the mountain instead of climbing over it. According to the Daily Star, this decision proved fatal. Shortly after turning onto a different path, Mike heard Andy drinking water when the dog suddenly ran sharply towards nearby trees.
Following him, Mike crossed the forest and saw a huge lake surrounded by many boulders. Andy climbed onto the rocks and greedily drank the lake water. The man moved over uneven terrain to reach his dog. Then suddenly disaster struck. One of the boulders beneath him shifted, and the 48-year-old man, trying to regain balance, fell into a gap between two rocks.
Before he could free himself, the unstable boulder finally rolled down – the man was trapped and could no longer move. Although stuck, the pastor, fortunately, was unharmed but completely unable to escape. Ballenas said: “After two hours of futile attempts to free himself, Mike realized he could not do it alone. The only way to survive was for someone to find and rescue him.”
With little food and water, he decided to write a diary while waiting for help. However, as the days slowly passed, the tone of the entries gradually changed: from optimistic to filled with dark humor.
Mike wrote: “I worry about three things: first – losing my legs; second – running out of snow that I melt for water, and fuel; third – getting hypothermia. I worry most about water. I have about two liters left. Ironically, the lake is just 30 feet away… Today I will drink one liter and save the other for tomorrow. I am also collecting my urine.”
During the day, the temperature rose to 37 degrees Celsius, and at night it dropped almost to zero. At first, Mike thought God was teaching him a spiritual lesson through this ordeal. Later, from his notes, it became clear that he felt punished by God until he finally accepted the thought that he might not survive.
Andy loyally stayed close to his owner – spending many days resting on a ledge above him. On August 5th, after being trapped between rocks for four days, the pastor wrote: “I feel so stupid for choosing this longer route. So lonely – more than I imagined. Who would have thought four days would pass and no one would show up?”
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Meanwhile, Mike’s wife grew increasingly worried as he did not appear at the agreed spot at the end of the trail. She reported to the authorities and a search operation began, but since no one knew about the man’s changed route, rescuers searched in a completely different part of the vast wilderness area.
Only on August 28th – almost a month after Mike set out on the hike, and a week after the search operation was called off – two hikers found a black Labrador wandering many miles from the search zone. After a veterinarian examined the dog, a new search was launched – this time in the right place.
However, by then the man had already been found. Another solo hiker, Jeff Stewart, was traveling near the lake in remote Wyoming areas when he noticed a man sitting on a large rock. He recalled: “At the start of the trail, I had seen posters and knew someone was being searched for,” he told Backpacker magazine. “So I shouted: ‘Hey, are you okay?’ There was no answer. I knew there wouldn’t be.”
In the final letter addressed to Mike’s wife, it reads: “Thank you for letting me experience this adventure. Know that wherever I am or whatever I do, I am thinking of you.”
The man died from the effects of harsh weather, hypothermia, and dehydration about nine days after the accident. His diary was found next to the body; it was carefully placed in a plastic bag to protect it from the elements. On a nearby rock, Mike consciously placed his wedding ring.
“He understood that after death and decomposition, the ring would slip off the bones and get lost among the rocks below,” explains Ballenas. “He clearly wanted this wedding ring to go to his family, so he placed it on the rock and then prepared for death.”
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