Advertisement Dad describes 58 hours lost in woods with his children Says he felt like 'worst dad ever' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A 40-year-old man who took his kids for a hike in a national park on a whim spoke Tuesday about being rescued after 58 hours lost in the woods.J.R. Kimbler took his 6-year-old daughter, Jade, and 10-year-old son, Dakota, to Congaree National Park for a hike. He said they had recently gone on a hike in another park, and he wanted to see what Congaree was like.Kimbler said they started hiking near the Harry Hampton Visitor Center, and a short time later, saw signs for a fishing area, so they went in that direction.But he said within a just few steps off the trail, it is easy to become lost, and it quickly gets worse.“Once you go a couple hundred yards, everything looks like what you just passed,” he said.He said once he realized they were lost, he sent a text message to a friend letting him know. But Kimbler said within seconds of sending the text, his phone went completely dead.Kimbler said at night, he and his children just “hunkered down” and huddled together, pulling their shirts down over their knees to keep the mosquitoes off. He said during the day they would walk for a half hour at a time, and then rest.He said they knew they were just walking in circles when they kept ending up back at the same pond. He said the walk grew more difficult as they became dehydrated and his son lost his glasses in the mud and his daughter lost a shoe.Kimbler said that they drank dirty pond water to try to keep going. He said at one point they startled a wild turkey that was sitting on eggs, and he cracked one egg open, but it was inedible, so they had nothing to eat for the three days.He said they were all starting to get discouraged Tuesday morning when he heard someone calling his name. He said when he yelled back, the ranger told him to stay where he was, but he said, “No way,” and "made a bee-line” to where the ranger was.He said, “Words cannot express how thankful I am to the park rangers and all the people that put time in. I’m so thankful.”Kimbler said when he first saw the rangers who were searching for them he said, “I love every one of you. I want to hug every one of you right now.”He said he felt like the worst father ever, but said at least he “did a pretty good job of keeping everyone alive.”He said it wasn’t until after the rescue that he learned that the massive park is 27,000 acres, and then he realized they could have walked for days without ever getting out.Kimbler said, “I wouldn’t want anyone to go through that. It was the worst thing ever. It was a nightmare."He also said next time he would Google anyplace they were going before they got there. When asked if he had any Scouting or outdoor experience, Kimbler laughed and said they closest he had ever come was watching the "Survivor" television show.When he was asked what he would do with his children on the next weekend they spend with him, Kimbler said, “I’ll take them to a skating rink -- or somewhere indoors.”He said being lost showed him “how fast you can go from having fun to being in severe trouble.”As for Congaree National Park, Kimbler said, “I’ll never go back there ever again.”