What was meant to be a short camping trip in the Sierra Nevada turned into a three-week quest for survival after a Middle Georgia woman fell off a cliff and became lost in the snowy wilderness.
The trip to California’s Fresno County was part of Tiffany Slaton‘s effort to visit all 50 states. She had made steady progress, with only six left to go. Her plan this time was to see the Mono Hot Springs, which she did not reach.
When Slaton set out on her trip April 20, parts of the Sierra Nevada, including Kaiser Pass, had accumulated 10 to 12 feet of snow, according to officials.
“I ended up on this very long and arduous journey that I journaled to try to keep sane. And eventually managed to get to civilization,” Slaton said during a Friday news conference with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office while wearing sunglasses because of damage to her eyes.
The Jeffersonville native was reunited with her family Thursday, which happened to be her 28th birthday.
A day earlier, Slaton was found alive and safe at the Vermilion Valley Resort on Lake Edison. The resort had been closed due to heavy snow, but the owner was checking on his property when he came across Slaton.
Her parents reported her missing 15 days earlier, but it was April 20 that she set out into the mountains and fell off a cliff after an avalanche tossed her off the main road, she explained.
After the fall, Slaton said she lost consciousness for about two hours. When she came to, she had to splint one of her legs and pop a knee back into place.
She was not able to call 911 or get back on the main road, so she began to walk across the snow-covered terrain in hopes that she would find civilization or that someone would find her.
She said she ran out of most of her food after five days. But as a trained permaculturist, she said she knew how to forage for food. Her parents also said they have a small farm in Jeffersonville, which taught Slaton many of her survival skills. Jeffersonville is about two hours southeast of Atlanta.
“The Sierras have a large selection of leeks that is hard to find in other places,” she said. “I managed to survive off of these leeks and boiling the snow melt.”
She also made tea every day, specifically a blend of Manzanita and pine needles, which she said she would have enjoyed under different circumstances.
Slaton said her digestive system stopped functioning during her time lost and that she feared it would not recover. But since her rescue, she said it has begun to return to normal.
“When you do manage to find food, the animals are also in competition with you. And on many occasions, I fought nature and lost,” she said.
Her eyesight was also damaged, forcing her to wear sunglasses. Though she had yet to undergo tests, she said doctors have told her it might be reparable and she suspects it might be due to snow blindness — a temporary but painful eye condition caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays, often reflected off snow and ice.
Because it was meant to be a camping trip, Slaton had what she called a “basic” tent and two sleeping bags. She eventually lost those items after fighting nature for so long. She was then left only with a lighter and a knife.
On Wednesday, she stumbled across a cabin at the Vermilion Valley Resort that had been left unlocked. At the time, she said she had no idea she was back at Lake Edison. She added that day was one of the worst snowstorms she had experienced.
She described seeing a “pristine Christmas tree and a tiny house,” along with signs that read “Santa’s sleigh.” She feared she was losing her mind. When she opened the door and saw a sleeping bag, she accepted the circumstances and was thankful for a dry bed.
“Without Vermillion resort, I would not be here at that moment because that was the 13th heavy snowstorm I had been in and it was going to be the last one,” she explained. “If (resort owner) hadn’t have come that day, they would have found my body there.”
Until that day, Kaiser Pass Road, which leads to the resort, had been impassable due to the snowpack. Fresno Sheriff John Zanoni said officials had tried to access the area on off-road vehicles in an attempt to find Slaton but could not make it up. But Wednesday, snowplows cleared the road and the resort owner accessed the property.
The owner told authorities he left a cabin unlocked as a precaution for situations such as the one Slaton found herself in.
“That was not an area that you would have anticipated or expected someone to be,” Zanoni, said, adding that it is not common for hikers to be in the area due to heavy snowfall.
The first thing Slaton asked for after being rescued was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then she headed to the hospital, where she learned her blood work was better than ever.
Slaton said she had several microcuts and burns, though nothing she thinks time won’t heal.
“I may never do a real vacation longer than three days ever again,” she said.
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