A hiker found bloodied and suffering from memory loss on California’s Lost Coast Trail is attempting to piece together what happened to him. He recalled the harrowing experience to Lost Coast Outpost.
34-year-old Sashank Upadhyayula, of San Jose, set out to the trail in nearby Whitehorn for his first backpacking excursion. Around 10 p.m. on June 24, Upadhyayula recalled “hearing something, being scared, and removing my bear spray, my two knives, water reservoir, and my electronics.”
The next thing he remembers is waking up on the beach in the breaking waves. “[I] made my way to the trail and collapsed after getting my mylar blanket. I covered my torso with the blanket and assumed fetal position to retain heat.”
That’s how he was found the next morning by a group of teenagers on a hike with their camp counselors. The adults rendered aid to Upadhyayula until a helicopter arrived to take him to a hospital. He suffered wounds on his arms, throat, and torso which officials say was the work of a knife or some other form of bladed weapon.
“With my lack of memory and because my knives are missing and how I was separated from my pack and found quite a distance away,” Upadhyayula surmised, “it all points towards me being attacked.”
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department (HSCO) is investigating the incident. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Men’s Journal.
“There is currently no information to suggest there is any current/on-going threat to [the] safety of the public along the Lost Coast Trail,” the department said in a statement. “As with anywhere, people should always be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity/behavior to law enforcement.”
While the macabre mystery of his gruesome attack has yet to be unraveled, Upadhyayula is focusing instead on how grateful he feels to have been found so soon after the incident.
“I just want to thank the people that helped rescue me,” he said, “and I want the other hikers in that area just to be aware of their surroundings and to make sure that nothing like this happens ever again.
