The day before Tiffany Slaton's 28th birthday, she is looking forward to a pack of dunkaroos - Cookie and Frosting Dip - she saved as a makeshift birthday cake. This is the only real food she left behind 24 days after her death in the Sierra Nevada, life in the wild Leeks and boiling snow.
Originally an initial three-day solo camping vacation around Shaver and Huntington Lakes in Fresno County, California, turned into a weekly survival trip. It ends in a cabin at Vermillion Valley Resort, which owners discovered Slaton on Wednesday.
Slaton had endured 13 snowstorms and climbed to 11,000 feet when she was rescued, officials said Friday. In addition to falling 10 pounds from her ordeal, she lost her tent and sleeping bag and was forced to give up her bike on the side sign.
Slaton spoke publicly about her journey at a press conference Friday with her parents and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni. Zanoni calls her story “they will make movies.”
"It's really an incredible story of perseverance, determination and survival," the sheriff added.
Slaton, an experienced outdoor activity from Jeffersonville, Georgia, reportedly disappeared on April 29 after nine days of not hearing about her. A comprehensive operation was conducted from May 6 to May 10 to locate the Slaton, spanning 600 square miles and deploying Helicopter.
Local authorities and volunteers covered 4,300 miles by foot and vehicle in search of Slaton, officials said Friday.
Slaton started her trek on April 20, equipped with basic camping supplies including an electric bike, two sleeping bags and a tent, and she is expected to be away for only a few days.
She said that early in the journey, Slaton fell off the cliff and was unable to return to the main road due to the recent avalanche. She was in a coma for about two hours, and after regaining consciousness, she had to pinch one leg and "bounce the other knee in."
She said Friday that she tried to make five calls from 911 - without success - unable to get the phone's navigation system to work. Frustrated, she asked her phone about the location of the nearest Starbucks-it gave her a 18-mile away position, which was closer than taking her way back to the entrance to the park.
Slaton relies on her wit and what she can find in the wilderness. Her skills as a senior archer, her medical knowledge and gardening training as a travel dialysis technician proved to be crucial to her survival. She recorded every day in "Keep Mind".
"The worst thing you can do in an emergency is panic," Slaton said.
Five days later, Slaton used up most of her food and relied on her foraging skills to collect the leeks she knew Locals in Sierra Nevada Mountains. She said she drinks tea with manzanita and pine needles every day.
Slaton Navigation Kaiser Pass is a 9,000-foot peak that plowed 10 to 12 feet of snow earlier this week. She eventually heads to Vermillion Valley and Lake Edison and is eventually rescued.
When Slaton first saw the Vermilion Valley Resort Cabin, she thought she was hallucinating and “somehow managed to push it to the North Pole.” She opened the unlocked door, inside, and found what she called “the best sleeping bag I’ve ever seen.”
Slaton was discovered Wednesday (the day before her 28th birthday) by the resort owner Christopher Gutierrez. The snowplow has cleared the road so that he can enter his property to prepare for the summer. Gutierrez told authorities that he was unlocked from leaving the cabin in case stranded hikers need shelter.
"That's the 13th biggest blizzard I've been to, and this will be the last one," Slaton said. "If he didn't come that day, they'll find my body there."
Zanoni said the road was plowed on Tuesday, allowing Gutierrez to arrive the next day, a "miracle". When Slaton was discovered, the resort owner said he recognized her from the missing person’s report.
"She came out suddenly, didn't say a word, just ran up, all she wanted was a hug. It was a very surreal moment," Gutierrez said at a press conference on Wednesday. "That was what I knew. That was when I realized who it was."