B.C. man spends 8 days in New Zealand wilderness following hiking accident

WATCH: A BC hiker is home after surviving a near-death fall in New Zealand. Jennifer Palma has the story.

Quadra Island resident Gregory Ross is no stranger to hiking. He has been exploring the world for the past 52 years and has spent a lot of time in New Zealand hiking, or tramping.

In April, he was on a two-week trip in a rugged area near Hokitika. He helped build the trails in the area 32 years ago, but the topography has changed since then.

“It had thrown me off,” he said. “I was going up a trail, which I was familiar with, when I got into the sub-alpine the vegetation had changed so much and I think global warming might have had something to do with it.”

Ross did not recognize the trail and became confused. That is when he slipped.

WATCH: Gregory Ross on the Morning News with Sophie Lui and Steve Darling.

When he fell down the steep slope, his wrist cord caught on a stump and that dislocated his shoulder. “There was an almighty crack and a pop,” he said.

Ross then tried to pop his shoulder back in himself, but was unable to. His friend was not expecting him back for seven days and Ross did not have a beacon with him to signal for help.

He was able to dislodge himself from the stump and then spent the next two days in his sleeping bag, trying to get warm. However, he could not stay there. “I had to make a very split-second decision to either go for the hut or try and stay where all my gear and food was,” he said. “I knew getting to the hut would prolong my life for about 10 days.”

Ross crawled to the hut, which took him about eight hours. After being out in the bush for eight days, he was finally rescued.

He still has nerve damage in his hand but does not plan to give up hiking or tramping anytime soon.

To read more about Ross’ adventures, visit his website.