Father & Son Stranded In Snowy Gila Mountains Recall Experience

“I was never lost,” Robert Fritz said with a chuckle.

An experienced hiker of nearly 30 years, Fritz would rather say he and his son Austin, 15, were “stranded” in snowy Gila National Forest.

ABC-7 caught up with the Fritz men as they recuperated at their upper valley home on Wednesday, a day after their wilderness rescue.

“It was a pretty interesting ordeal,” Fritz reflected.

The 55-year-old said he thought he and his son were pretty prepared for their five day hike, bringing the proper equipment and week’s worth of food. After all, they were only supposed to be out there from the Monday after Christmas through New Year’s Eve.

But midway through their stay in the Gila, it began to snow.

It began to snow a lot.

“Because my son got sick, we couldn’t continue hiking so we had to stay where we were,” Fritz told ABC-7.

The two moved though the valley as much as they could, passing the nights in the freezing forest, the ground too damp for a fire.

All the while, a rescue helicopter continued to pass overhead, something Fritz called “gut-wrenching.”

“I felt so helpless,” he said.

The rescue chopper spotted the pair on Tuesday, after Fritz moved to higher ground and waved his orange poncho and red bag.

“(The pilot) came back and it was exhilarating,” he said. “It was a relief.”

Austin, who has a metal plate in one of his legs, suffered a swollen ankle as a result of all the hiking and the freezing temperatures. But he told ABC-7 he never lost hope.

“I knew for sure we were gonna get out,” he said. “The only thing I wasn’t sure of was when.”