Lost Snowshoer Burned Cash to Survive

Yong Chun Kim also dreamed of his wife, sauna while stranded on Mt. Rainier
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2012 12:03 AM CST
Lost Snowshoer Burned Cash to Survive
This photo, taken by Yong Chun Kim, shows a fire he started by burning $ and $5 bills and other personal possessions while he was stranded on Mt. Rainier.   (AP Photo/Courtesy Yong Chun Kim)

Good thing he had money to burn. That's how lost Tacoma snowshoe hiker Yong Chun Kim, 66, survived two days in the mountains of Washington state until rescuers found him. He had no overnight gear in the freezing weather, but he ran in place and used fire starters to ignite the few dry leaves he could find, socks, and $1 and $5 bills, he said. He also dreamed of his wife and a sauna, he recalled. "I feel pretty good," Kim told KOMO-TV as he sipped hot tea at a ranger station. The experienced hiker was reported missing at Mt. Rainier National Park after he fell down a slope and became separated from a group he was leading. (More Yong Chun Kim stories.)

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