{"id":1274,"date":"2014-08-20T16:32:10","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T23:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/?p=1274"},"modified":"2022-08-01T15:23:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T22:23:39","slug":"california-man-rescued-after-making-help-sign-with-cypress-needles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/2014\/08\/20\/california-man-rescued-after-making-help-sign-with-cypress-needles\/","title":{"rendered":"California man rescued after making ‘HELP’ sign with cypress needles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Vilhauer used sticks and needles to write “HELP” seen by helicopter pilot<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source of this article: The Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

A scavenger hunt for fish bait turned into a desperate five-day mission by a West Sacramento man to return home.<\/p>\n

If it was not for Mike Vilhauer\u2019s quick thinking to fashion numerous sticks and bunches of cypress needles into an 8-feet tall \u2018HELP\u2019 sign, he may not have been rescued. The sign did eventually catch a helicopter pilot\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a time I thought I wasn\u2019t going to make it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But his love for his wife and family, he said, motivated him to keep moving.<\/p>\n

Vilhauer, 58, lost his way Aug. 5 as he was looking for grasshoppers for bait in the California wilderness just south of Lake Tahoe in Alpine County.<\/p>\n

The area was unfamiliar to him because he had learned about it from a fishing book. Vilhauer was supposed to go fishing with his son but plans fell through, so he decided to go alone.<\/p>\n

From the start, his trip seemed a bit off.<\/p>\n

There were no fish in the lake, and a group of trucks circled his car while he was kayaking, prompting him to head back to shore.<\/p>\n

Realizing he needed more bait, he grabbed a butterfly net and headed into the wilderness, never tracking his footsteps.<\/p>\n

He soon realized he was lost and a storm was quickly approaching.<\/p>\n

Vilhauer gathered branches and pine needles to make a bed for the night, so he could try to retrace his steps in the morning.<\/p>\n

But the days quickly turned into nights and the search for home grew frustrating.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he says he ran into deer, a bear and a wolverine, an elusive animal photographed only a few times in California.<\/p>\n

Surviving on water, Vilhauer pondered the possibility he might not get out of the wilderness. During his trek, he found a cow bell and banged it, hoping to attract attention.<\/p>\n

But it appeared no one was listening.<\/p>\n

Using a knife, Vilhauer etched out a lengthy letter to his wife and family on a piece of driftwood. In the roughly made letter, he said he apologized for getting lost.<\/p>\n

Throughout his journey, there were several instances in which he saw helicopters. He flung his arms to get attention.<\/p>\n