Vietnam vet, 76, recalls harrowing 5 days lost in Arizona wilderness surviving rattlesnake attacks, drinking his own urine

A Vietnam veteran is recovering after he spent five days lost in the Arizona wilderness — surviving rattlesnake attacks, drinking his own urine, and sleeping under trees, according to reports and authorities.Mark Eric Young, 76, decided to extend his stay in the Verde Valley area after attending a wedding and drove out to Bloody Basin for a solo hike on April 16, according to Arizona Family and the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.Young, who lives in North Carolina, did not show up for a scheduled dinner with a family friend the following day — prompting his concerned family to report him missing to police, who launched an all-out search.The grandfather had traveled the trail multiple times, but recalled suddenly losing his path.“I blundered.

I got off the wrong trail,” he told 12News.The veteran who completed two tours of duty in Vietnam said the situation quickly spiraled into the most terrifying mission of his life.“I’ve never been without water for five days,” Young told the outlet.

Young sheltered under cedar and pine trees each night and had limited supplies with him, including a military compass, canteens, lighters, and water purification tablets, the publicatiion reported.At one point, the US Army vet was attacked by a rattlesnake and forced to stone the creature to death.“I came around a corner, and it was rattling, and I heard it, and I think he saw me about the same time.

Well, maybe he saw me early, because he was rattling, and he struck, but he was short on that strike, and then I stoned him to death,” he said.On his third day lost in the wilderness, Young’s water supply ran out — forcing him to drink his own urine.“It was on the third day when I actually had to drink my own urine,” he said.

“So I urinated in my canteen and drank it because I knew I had to, to survive.”Without knowing if rescuers were coming for him, Young turned to his faith and thoughts of his seven children and 31 grandchildren, he recalled.“Bei...