Lost camper's gear helps hikers survive

LOS ANGELES — Two lost hikers who survived three nights in rugged terrain were rescued after they scavenged supplies from the campsite of another hiker who vanished last year and is presumed dead.

The pair found a backpack containing clothing and matches in the deserted campsite of John Donovan, almost a year to the day after he disappeared in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Donovan's abandoned gear "gave us the means to get out," hiker Gina Allen said Wednesday in a telephone interview.

Allen, 24, and Brandon Day, 28, of Dallas, were in Southern California for a financial convention. They got lost Saturday west of Palm Springs after wandering off a trail during what was supposed to be a day hike.

Prepared only for a brief hike, they wore light jackets and tennis shoes and had no food, spare clothing or cellphones.

After spending two nights sleepless, cold and hungry, they discovered an abandoned campsite Monday in a dead-end gorge.

They found identification showing the camper was Donovan, 60, a retired social worker from Virginia. They learned later that he was an experienced hiker who had been following the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, from Southern California to the Canadian border, when he vanished May 2, 2005, in icy weather.

His journal, in the form of notes written on sketch paper and on the back of maps, depicted a man without hope of rescue, Day said.

"His last journal entry was one year ago to the day that we found it, which was very eerie," Day said. "Nobody knew where he was, nobody knew to come looking for him, so he was preparing for the end. We were looking at the words of a man who was passing."

They found salvation in his backpack: a warm sweater for Allen, dry socks for Day and matches. They lit a small signal fire and spotted a helicopter in the distance, but the crew did not see them.

On Tuesday morning, they came to a large culvert choked with dried-out vines and other foliage. Day struck another match.

"The whole acre or two caught fire, created a really big smoke signal" that finally alerted a helicopter crew, he said.

They were examined at a hospital and had only blisters and bruises.

"We feel great. We're thankful. We feel like we've been given a second chance," Day said.

Authorities planned to search the area over the weekend for signs of Donovan.