WENATCHEE — A Leavenworth man spent a cold, snowy Friday night in the woods but walked out safely on his own Saturday morning.

A Chelan County helicopter searched about two hours Saturday morning for Karl Halupka, 53, before hunters spotted him and notified sheriff’s deputies who were searching for him.

Deputy Tim Erwert said the man left Friday morning for what was supposed to be a day hike at the head of the Icicle Valley southwest of Leavenworth.

He parked his truck at Black Pine Campground and headed up the Icicle Creek Trail. From there, he planned to hike a loop up the Frosty Creek drainage and out the Chatter Creek drainage, then pedal a bike he stashed at the Chatter Creek trailhead to get back to his truck.

His wife reported his missing just before midnight Friday.

Erwert said a deputy went out around 2 a.m. and located Halupka’s truck at the campground. The helicopter then searched for him starting at 8 a.m.

Deputies in the chopper located footprints in the snow near Ladies Peak, which was on the hiker’s intended route, but did not locate him. The hunters reported seeing him at his truck sometime after 11 a.m., Erwert said.

Halupka was not injured, he said.

Erwert said the hiker told deputies that some of his electronic devices were not working properly because of the cold temperatures, and he become disoriented. He had food but did not have gear for an overnight stay in the woods, he added.

“He hunkered down for the night in the cold,” Erwert said. “Our guys in the helicopter estimated there was about 6 inches of snow in the area.” Halupka hiked back out the Icicle Creek Trail to his truck.