I don’t understand this. She had a compass, waterproof matches, plenty of dry wood, a nearby stream w/water, a pocketknife, string, a whistle, and on and on and on. I suppose she got so wrapped up in getting a cell signal ...
But still... She pitched a tent after being lost for one day and then didn’t move from under those trees. I just don’t get it. Even w/o a compass, just look at the sun and head south back to the trail!
May she RIP and God bless her family and friends. I just wish there was more we could learn from this. (And there’s a pdf file at the link that has photos of the scene, for anyone who missed it. Very sad to read that report.)
You know, the amazing thing is that an experienced hiker would want the useless weight of a cell phone. They lose their charge in a few days, and getting through the hundred mile wilderness in Maine might take a week.
According to the WaPo article, she did have a whistle. She had hiked 1,000 miles already. How can you come that far and be so incompetent? It’s a mystery.