When Cumberland’s Murray Naswell opened the door to a cabin on a remote Island on Moat Lake he knew he’d survived his near-death ordeal and would see his daughters again.
“I would have been dead without it,” Naswell said. “As soon as I opened the cabin door and as soon as I saw those blankets I knew I’d be OK.”
Naswell, 50, was found safe at noon Monday at Stuart Wood Island, part of Strathcona Provincial Park’s Forbidden Plateau.
Naswell was found by searchers after he failed to return to his Strathcona campsite after reaching the summit of Mount Albert Edward late on July 3.
About 120 searchers, three helicopters and four dogs searched for Naswell on Monday.
“I was kind of hoping someone would be [at the cabin],” Naswell said. “I was freezing and I went upstairs and they have beds with blankets so I took off my wet clothes and and threw about 10 blankets on me and shivered for about an hour.”
Jamie Wood, who owns the island with his cousins, rents out the cabins. He said he has received dozens of notes over the years from people, especially in winter, who have said a cabin saved their life after they became lost or stranded.
Naswell first hiked Mount Albert Edward at age 11 and many times since.
When he started his hike, it was clear and sunny and he had food, water and a first-aid kit.
He left later than he should have but was prepared for a five-hour hike up and three down, making it to base camp by 8:15 p.m.
He reached the summit, signed the register in a waterproof container inside a rock cairn and left an old passport.
Cognizant of the time, he said he descended from an elevation of 6,500 feet quicker than he should have. He became ill and disoriented. Fog rolled in. “I couldn’t see any markings so I was just going with my gut instinct.”
When Naswell did not return to his campsite that night or the next morning, a couple he hiked with on the way up — they abandoned the hike — became concerned and spoke to the park contractor.
The contractor phoned RCMP, triggering a search.
Naswell said he was trapped in thick cloud and fog. For two nights he perched on a cliff outcrop, he said. It was half-moon shape, about five feet at the widest point and 12 feet long.
“The thirst was bad” and he was cold. He sucked dew off leaves.
If he had remained a third night, he said he was sure he’d fall asleep and roll off the cliff, plummet to his death. “I didn’t think I could make it out of there.” He thought of his grown daughters Katie and Jasmine — “that’s all I thought about.”
After two nights, Naswell took advantage of a slight clearing in the fog to reach higher ground and find his bearings. He thought he spotted Circlet Lake where he’d be able to pick up a trail. Instead, as he came closer, he recognized it as Moat Lake. The only way down to the water was to jump — 20 to 30 feet. He then swam half-a-mile to Stuart Wood Island and found the cabin, he said.
His first meal at the cabin was chicken noodle soup. He wore dry clothes from a closet, used medical gel for his wounds, and waited to be found.
On Monday, a helicopter crew saw smoke coming from a bonfire he had made.
Before leaving, “I wrote them a note to say how thankful I was for the cabin,” Naswell said.
Looking back, Naswell said he was “a little arrogant” about his ability to do the climb.
He didn’t mean to put rescuers “in harm’s way” or to waste resources, he said. “I didn’t mean to make everyone worry.”
