Bishop, a retired hazardous waste specialist from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, told rescuers he had tried to descend the dome of granite in Dinky Lakes Wilderness 45 miles northeast of Fresno after he summited Dog Tooth Peak on Thursday then chose what turned out to be a hazardous route down.

He fell three times, cutting his head and scraping up his body, and stayed up all night trying to keep his balance before he realized midday Friday he couldn't make it. He found a six-to-seven-inch wide ledge about 150 yards from the bottom and wedged his body there while he hallucinated about being rescued.

"I was planted there until someone found me or I was going to die there," Bishop said Wednesday.

He had started slipping down the rock on Saturday as his delirium increased and his strength faltered on Saturday when he spotted what looked like a group of people standing below him.