California hiker Lukas McClish found after missing for 10 days in Santa Cruz Mountains

A California hiker who got lost for 10 days while exploring the Santa Cruz Mountains drank a gallon of water from his boot one day before finally being rescued last week, according to reports.

Lukas McClish, 34, didn't even put on a shirt when he started his June 11 hike that was supposed to last just three hours before he couldn't find his way back and was reported missing six days later so that he didn't do it. show up to a Father's Day dinner, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported.

“I left with just pants, my pair of hiking shoes and a hat. I had a flashlight and a pair of folding scissors, like a Leatherman tool. And that was about it,” the Boulder Creek resident told the station Friday.

He drank water he found from natural sources to keep him going. And in large quantities.

“I just made sure to drink a gallon of water every day, but then towards the end my body needed food and some sort of sustenance,” he said, according to ABC 7 LA.

“I go up a canyon, I go down a canyon to the next waterfall, I sit by the waterfall and I drink water out of my boot,” McClish also said, according to KSBW.

The lost hiker, who also reportedly ate wild berries, said he slept on wet leaves while screaming for help.

“Help me, help me. I’m here,” he told the station. “Or is there someone there?” I want a burrito and a taco bowl, that's what I thought about every day after the first five days, when I started to realize that maybe I was in over my head.

McClish told ABC 7 LA he had trouble getting directions because some landmarks had been destroyed by the recent wildfires in Northern California.

Multiple agencies canvassed the area before he was finally located at Big Basin State Parks Thursday afternoon.

“There were several reports that witnesses heard someone screaming for help, but the location of that person was difficult to establish,” Cal Fire San Mateo – Santa Cruz said in a post on social networks.

McClish said he was in some pain and lost his voice, but otherwise suffered no injuries.

He told ABC 7 LA he was grateful when he saw all the boot and paw prints on the ground from first responders searching for him.

“It was definitely humbling and I don’t know, it was a great experience,” McClish said.