If she’d had a compass and the most minimal knowledge of how to use it she would have had no trouble getting back to the trail. Far too many people get out in the woods without the most elementary knowledge or training. She died less than 2 miles from the AT because she was disoriented and could not follow a simple direction back toward the trail. How sad....
I was thinking the same thing...azimuth...pace count...back azimuth.
And even if you bring a GPS, ALWAYS bring a map and compass and know how to use them!
There may come a time when the GPS satellite system doesn’t work... for whatever reason. Or more likely, the GPS unit doesn’t work (dropped, lost, dead batteries).
And then don’t move if you get lost and of course give someone your itinerary — where and when you are expected.
I still have a set of walkie-talkies that work very well without a cellphone network. They are dirt cheap these days, too.
If she’d had a compass and the most minimal knowledge”
Now that’s Funny, Just Yesterday I stopped at the top of the hill on the way home (Angeles National Forest) in California. The Pacifico Mountain Trail crosses the highway there.
I witnessed 5 Hikers in a row, within about 15 minutes, get to the road, pull out their phone and begin walking the WRONG WAY for about 100 yards until their stupid GPS told them to TURN AROUND!!!
I learned to Properly read a MAP and Navigate at 8 years old!!
Exactly. Everyone claims how experienced she was. Hardly. She got off the trail to pee and then headed farther away to get cell reception. She’s no smarter than a 14 year old with their nose in their phones. As if she couldn’t tie a string to a tree beside the trail to find her way back or not go more than 3 paces off the trail. Or better yet, end it when her partner left. She packed a phone but not a paper map and a simple compass. Sorry, no sympathy for her but sympathy for those who found her and had to haul her back. There is no excuse for her incompetence and selfishness.
"“This is some of the worst country in Maine,” Palman said. “It’s hard to understand how logistically difficult this area was. On any given day, by the time a searcher would get close to where Largay was found, they’d have to turn around to make it back to their vehicles by nightfall.”
All hikers should be prepared to save themselves, and that means having a compass and topo maps, and at least basic knowledge of how to either find the original trail or walk out to safety. And even though many people are trained to sit still if they are lost, that's not a good strategy if the search teams you are relying on don't stay overnight in the woods to search areas more than 1/2 day walk from the road.
Also, hikers need to be prepared to act boldly. Starting a small signal fire is a very good idea in the circumstances Mrs. Largay found herself in. As the situation grew more desperate she should have started a much larger signal fire, and at some point starting a large enough signal fire to get anyone within 50 miles' attention might have been warranted. Needless to say anyone hiking in the woods should be carrying the supplies necessary to start a fire - big or small.
But the most important skill is to be able to navigate with a compass - even if you can't see ten feet in front of you in the brush.
She did have a compass and a map. Her biggest mistake was hiking alone.
“If she’d had a compass and the most minimal knowledge of how to use it she would have....”
A compass? You silly, there’s an app for that.
She had a compass.
Follow water downstream
Follow setting or rising sun
In Maine either way you hit a road in due time
It ain’t Siberia
“If she’d had a compass and the most minimal knowledge of how to use it she would have had no trouble getting back to the trail.”
That’s it in a nutshell, Enchante. The poor woman became disorientated and obviously had no knowledge about how to get herself out of trouble. I’d guess that she had neither a compass nor map and wouldn’t know how to use those tools if she did. So unfortunate.
So very, very true. This was so totally unnecessary, especially by an experienced adult hiker.