HOODSPORT, Wash. — Besides a few bumps and bruises, Roger Norris is upbeat two days after Mason County Search and Rescue, assisted by at least a dozen other organizations, rescued him from the mountainous terrain beyond the Mildred Lakes Trailhead.
“It didn’t work out as well as I thought it should," Roger said. “This is the first I’ve ever gotten lost, but it happened and I take responsibility for it. One simple mistake. That’s all it takes.”
An experienced hunter and outdoorsman, Roger brought the essentials he needed to survive just in case an emergency happened. This hunting trip would put his survival skills to the test.
“The first three nights were pretty bad with hypothermia. Wet, cold and I couldn’t really get a good fire going," he said. “Thursday was a bad day. I took a fall and got hurt. That was pretty much where I had to spend the rest of the time."
The timeline of Roger's hunting trip turned rescue is as follows:
- Sept. 30: He arrived at Mildred Lake Trailhead and set up camp along the trail.
- Oct. 1: He went hunting and successfully made it back to camp.
- Oct. 2: He went hunting again, but this time he got lost.
- Oct. 3-5: He was lost in the mountainous, unforgiving terrain and eventually suffered injuries from a fall on Oct 5.
- Oct. 6-7: He stayed at the location where he fell.
- Oct. 7: He was rescued.
Through it all, Roger said he never lost hope.
"I got a son and daughter-in-law and I knew, 100%, no matter how long it took. They were going to find me," he said. "As far as this whole event, 90% of it was mental. You had to keep yourself calm and know you were going to make it every day."
"It was pretty emotional, I'm not going to lie. He's my dad and I grew up thinking he was invincible," Cody Norris, Roger's oldest son, said.
The younger Norris was set to meet his father on Oct. 3. When Roger didn't show, Cody and his fiancée did some searching of their own with no luck. They called the Mason County Sheriff's Office to report his father missing that night.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Cody found his dad's campsite and realized he hadn't been there in days.
"That's when the panic kind of set in," Cody said. "Where is he? Where is my dad?"
Oct. 5 is when the huge search effort started. Videos and pictures captured a small portion of the massive undertaking that led to Roger's rescue.
The father and son have a message for the rescuers.
"I want to give a shout to Omar. Omar, you guys are the top. The best in the northwest," Roger said. “Seeing them come walking up through the woods, it was a like whole, brand new day.”
"I feel like thanking them isn't enough. My fiancée and I are really interested in volunteering for search and rescue now," Cody said.