Greg Randolph trudged 14 miles over four days after stranding his Jeep in a desolate canyon in southern Oregon. Then he collapsed in the middle of a dirt road, barely conscious, dehydrated, sunburned and incoherent.

That’s when, in all improbability, a cyclist from Portland happened by.

To grasp the remarkable serendipity that saved the 72-year-old Randolph, you have to understand just how remote an area this is.

Lake County, part of the high desert region dubbed “the Oregon Outback,” is known as much for its sage brush as for its cattle, which vastly outnumber the human population. With just 7,900 residents and 8,300 square miles, it’s one of Oregon’s least populous counties with less than one person per square mile.

Maybe one car a week traverses the road where Randolph was discovered.

It was July 18, sometime after 11 a.m.

“Coming around the bend, I just saw something in the road,” 42-year-old Tomas Quinones said Thursday as he recounted the strange sight.

He already had seen three dead cows on his weeklong, 360-mile backcountry camping trip by mountain bike. He thought Randolph was another one. Then he saw the form twitch.

“I realized those were shoes, not hooves, and it was a person,” Quinones said.

State police this week reported that Randolph survived. And so did his two dogs who had been with him when he drove into the wilderness July 14. One was rescued with him on Day 5 -- the other, on Day 7, after an Oregon State Police airplane found the marooned Jeep and the pooch nearby.

Randolph, a Lakeview resident, couldn’t be reached by The Oregonian/OregonLive to share his story. But Quinones and Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Buck Maganzini filled in the details.

“The real hero of the story is Mr. Quinones,” said the deputy, who responded to the scene that day. “I truly believe Mr. Randolph owes his life to Mr. Quinones.”

That first night in the hospital, when Maganzini tried to piece together what had happened, Randolph was too dehydrated to talk.

“I got him to nod yes or no. ... The second day he was able to get a few words out," Maganzini said. “The third day he was sitting up, eating, and he was able to have a conversation.”

The deputy learned that Randolph had gone to the Guano Creek Slough, about 40 miles from the nearest town, with his dogs and a plan to explore an area he’d never been to.

While driving in a roadless canyon, his Jeep got stuck -- its front bumper wedged against a large rock or chunk of dried mud.

“No one ever drives up there,” Maganzini said. “It’s like a dry creek bed. You can barely get a four-wheeler through there.”

But Maganzini said Randolph’s desire to venture out is common in the vast county.

“There’s not a lot to do out here,” Maganzini quipped.

Lakeview, the county’s largest city with 2,300 residents, sits just above the California border and is a six-hour, 350-mile road trip from Portland.

Randolph told the deputy that he spent the first night in his SUV, then decided to hike out on the second day with both of his small dogs, Buddy and Cruella. Buddy, who resembles “Benji” of Hollywood fame, ran back to the Jeep at some point. But Cruella, who appears to be a Shih Tzu, stayed by Randolph’s side the entire time.

Randolph spent the next four days walking toward the nearest heavily traveled road, Oregon 140, at least 20 miles away, before stumbling to the ground. He used up what little water he had with him almost immediately, with daytime temperatures hovering in the low 80s.

Maganzini said Randolph made the right decision to hike out toward the highway, given that his best chance at encountering another person in the area would have been during deer hunting season, still months away.

Quinones was passing through because he seeks out backcountry journeys. He appears to have the know-how to do it: He works for Ride With GPS, a Northeast Portland company that makes route-planning software for cyclists.

Quinones said he travels with a water filter, up to six liters of water, plenty of food and a Spot tracker. With a push of an “SOS” button, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then notifies dispatchers that police and medics are needed at specific GPS coordinates.

When he found Randolph, Quinones hadn’t had cell coverage for two days, he said. So he activated the tracker and waited about an hour for rescuers to arrive.

Quinones said it was obvious Randolph’s life was in jeopardy.

“He was conscious, but not responding,” Quinones said. “He would grunt and his eyes would roll around, but he couldn’t tell me his name or anything else. He couldn’t sit up.”

Quinones gave Randolph and the dog some water. He also set up his tent in the middle of the dirt road to provide some shade. But Randolph wasn’t able to crawl into it, he said.

When medics from Warner Valley First Responders got there and loaded Randolph into the ambulance, it was clear Randolph’s dog, Cruella, wanted to go with him. But the dog wasn’t allowed inside.

Quinones said he put Cruella on her leash and “as the ambulance took off, the dog started to yelp.”

Maganzini arrived a short while later and delivered Cruella to a Lakeview animal hospital. Two days later, after state police found the Jeep and the second dog, Buddy soon joined her.

Authorities say both dogs were thirsty and hungry, but in fair shape. A mud puddle next to the Jeep might have served as a water source for Buddy.

The rescuers are celebrating a joyful ending to the misadventure.

“We are happy to report that (Randolph) and his two dogs were reunited and are back home resting after their harrowing ordeal,” state police said.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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