Man found after weeks in the wild was on tour of self-discovery

For 25-year-old Australian man Gaskell, a solo trip in the Malaysian wilderness was meant to be a journey of self-discovery. Except he soon discovered that he was quite lost. It began with the usual intentions of any young, intrepid traveller. 

Before his trip, Gaskell wrote in his blog about his desire to find himself through his experiences. He’d interact with local people and “climb a lot of mountains” in Asia, he said. “And maybe, just maybe, in the course of my travels I’ll come to some sort of conclusion as to who I am and what I want to do with my life,” he wrote. But when Gaskell tried to return from a hike up the 2,376 metre high Mount Mulu, he found himself disoriented. Gaskell said it took him a while to realise that he was actually seriously lost. 

His family reported him as missing last Thursday to Tasmanian Police, after he began his journey in the mountains on October 18. “It actually took me a while to be concerned — I must be more optimistic than I thought,” he told ABC News. 

“If I had a GPS or better navigational equipment I would have been fine but it was extremely stupid of me really.” He was “getting weaker and weaker every day,” forced to survive on a diet of ferns. Images of a rescued Gaskell being carried into a helicopter were shared on the Facebook page of Malaysia’s Fire and Rescue Department. Ever the optimist, he was able to give a thumbs up and a peace sign alongside rescuers before being transported to a hospital. Tasmanian Police said in a statement that Gaskell is currently being assessed. Despite the incident, he is still planning to continue his travels. Sometimes you can’t shake off that travel bug.