JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, Calif., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A 64-year-old man lost for six days in California's Joshua Tree National Park thought he might die and started writing notes on his hat, officials said.
Edward H. Rosenthal, who got lost on a day-hike, was rescued miles from his starting point, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Rosenthal, a Culver City real estate broker, was airlifted Thursday to Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree and reported in good condition.
Park rangers were notified Rosenthal was missing Sunday. Rescuers found him in East Wide Canyon, 6 to 7 miles from the original search area.
"He was conscious when the rescuers found him and was talking with them, but he does have some injuries and some exposure issues," park spokesman Joe Zarki said in a Palm Springs Desert Sun report.
Rosenthal wrote letters to his family and business partners on his hiking hat, and described what he thought might be his last hiking excursion.
"It's really very miraculous," his wife, Nicole Kaplan, said. "I didn't think that he'd be around."
Kaplan wouldn't discuss details about what her husband wrote on his hat.
"It's fairly personal," she said. "He basically wrote down everything he wanted us to know on that hat."
He wrote his last entry Wednesday, the Times said. It said: "Still here."
