Gandhi Was Tougher Than This
Some people, like our friend at the right, certainly need a little bit of dieting to shed those extra pounds. Plenty of decent fads exist out there that merit some consideration or experimentation for those of us who have some weight problems. Then there is Berkeley, where its residents decide to find new ways to screw up spiritual enlightenment for the rest of us.
The revelation was not, perhaps, what he expected. A Berkeley man who hiked into the Los Padres National Forest to conduct a multi-day fast found himself too emaciated eight days later to hike out and was rescued Tuesday by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department.
Backpackers who had encountered Gerald Horne 12 miles into the rugged backcountry hiked to the trail head and alerted authorities. Rescue team members were lowered to the hiker via helicopter and then airlifted him out of the forest to a waiting ambulance.
Horne, 38, was transported to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
“He said he was just going out to find himself and get away a little bit and go on a fast,” said Sgt. Joe Moses on Wednesday.
But by day five Horne couldn’t hold down food or water, Moses said.
By the time the backpackers stumbled upon him at Sykes Camp over the weekend, it was clear Horne wasn’t leaving the forest under his own power, Moses added.
“A couple of them came out and said, `This guy needs help,’ ” Moses said. “So we went in and got him.”
We’re pretty sure he needed help a LONG time before he was left nursing himself in the woods. A bear eating him might have provided a great deal more help.
Hiker rescued from forest after eight-day fast [San Jose Mercury News]
(Image from The Peacock)
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