A backpacker was found battered, bloodied and shaking on the ground of a remote California hiking trial - and says he still has no idea how he ended up there.
Sashank Upadhyayula, 34, ventured out on the Lost Coast Trail on June 24, but said the last thing he remembered was 'hearing something' on the trail around 10 pm.
'I remember hearing something, being scared and removing my bear spray, my two knives, water reservoir and my electronics,' he told the Lost Coast Outpost.
He was discovered at 9 am the next morning by a group of six teenage campers and two counselors, who found him with several slash wounds that medics said could point to him being savagely attacked.
'The doctors believe it was a knife or bladed weapon,' he said. 'With my lack of memory and because my knives are missing and how I was separated from my pack and found quite a distance away... it all points towards me being attacked.'
Counselors are pictured with injured backpackerSashank Upadhyayula, 34, under a tarp (left) as a CalFire emergency rescue helicopter arrives to save him
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation into the incident, but insisted that there is 'no reason to believe that there is any threat to public health or safety' along the trail.
When he was discovered,Upadhyayula was unable to walk, and it appeared he had been left severely injured all night as he was shivering cold, and was wearing a pair of 'soaked' jeans.
Upadhyayula claims he still has no clue what happened to him, andPaul Sever, an employee of the Bureau of Land Management, told the San Francisco Chronicle it remains 'a bit of a mystery.'
The six teenagers and their two counselors,Solomon Reinman, 26, and Jack Davis, 28, sprang into action when they found the injured man as they began their morning trek.
The counselors cut open his jacket and bandaged his wounds, and attempted to warm up the freezing hiker by wrapping him in a sleeping bag and tarp.
All six teenagers had also just completed a wilderness first aid crash course the day before, and used their new skills to set up a camping stove and heat up water bottles to place next to Upadhyayula.
The incident unfolded on the Lost Coast Trail, where six teenage hikers and two camp counselors sprang into action after finding the backpacker bloodied and incoherent
Maria Vollmar, the camp program director, said she received word of the situation over satellite phone and ran up the path to find them, where she said she found the young campers being 'really, really helpful and steady and kind.'
'Sol and Jack just really did an amazing job helping this man,' she added to the Lost Coast Outpost.
Upadhyayula said it was his first attempt at backpacking and he ventured out alone, but his rescuers reportedly found him to be mostly incoherent when they found him on the ground.
An image taken from the rescue showed the 34-year-old wrapped up under a tarp as a helicopter came to help him, which arrived around 90 minutes after the campers stumbled across him.
He was treated for his various wounds and hypothermia, and said he still has no idea what happened to him.
Upadhyayula added in an email to the Lost Coast Outpost that he was thankful to those who saved him, as he issued a warning to other rookie backpackers.
The backpacker said he 'heard something' at around 10 pm before he fell unconscious, and it appears he lay severely injured all night until he was found around 9 am the next morning
'I just want to thank the people that helped rescue me and I want the other hikers in that area just to be aware of their surroundings and to make sure that nothing like this happens ever again,' he said.
In a statement, the sheriff's office said it was investigating the incident, but said there is no threat to safety along the trail.
'As with any such remote/ rural area, we encourage people to make sure they are adequately prepared for the rugged terrain of that area (adequate food, clothing, maps, GPS enabled location/emergency notification device),' the statement read.
'And as with anywhere, people should always be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity/behavior to law enforcement.'
