. >> when they found me, they let me take a couple of sucks out the camelbak. it was so refreshing. before i made it down, so i was starting to feel considerably better. >> reporter: mcclatchy set out on a solo adventure to celebrate his 38th birthday in a mountain area known as buckeye trail when he got lost in dangerous terrain. >> the mountains are very steep. there's rocks. we've got rattlesnakes, cottonmouth, copperheads, and bears. we've had encounters with all of them while we're out there during the search. >> reporter: the hiker sent desperate texts to his mother, calling for help. searchers using his faint cell phone signal to zero in with dogs and helicopters, with heat sensors to find him. >> i would like to thank my family and friends who welcomed me at the trail head. that was unexpected and warms my heart like no other. >> reporter: tom, mcclatchy also thanked everybody on the search and rescue teams who worked around the clock to find him, saying he wouldn't be alive without them. tom? >> zachary, thank you. >>> up next, the flight cancellations at the airports over