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15 Feb ’12
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Damn, that is horrible, I remember the story when it first happened.
A 66-year-old hiker who was found dead two years after she went missing on the Appalachian Trail kept a journal of her ordeal after getting lost in the wilderness.
Geraldine Largay, from Brentwood, Tennessee, left a heartbreaking note to whoever found her remains begging them to call her husband and daughter to let them know she had died.
The last entry, dated on August 28 2013, reveals she survived for at least 26 days after she got lost while going off the trail to relieve herself.
On one torn-out page, dated August 6, Largay wrote: "When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry.
"It will be the greatest kindness for them to know that I am dead and where you found me - no matter how many years from now.
"Please find it in your heart to mail the contents of this bag to one of them."
Inside the bag was her cellphone and the journal.
In a 1500-page report into her death, seen by the Boston Globe, the Maine Warden Service reveal Largay attempted to text her husband after getting lost, but the messages never went through because of poor reception.
Wardens believe Largay went to higher ground in an attempt to get better signal before making camp on a raised knoll.
Her kit, which included a tent, Mylar blanket and rain gear were all used during her almost month-long ordeal before she died from lack of food and exposure.
21 Feb ’12
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Sad. This is why basic orienteering and wilderness skills are an important thing to learn, even if you never use them.
15 Feb ’12
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scary that all she did was step off the trail to go to the bathroom and got totally lost
21 Feb ’12
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Yeah. A compass would have saved her life.
19 Feb ’12
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DangerDuke said
Yeah. A compass would have saved her life.
I'm not so sure. So many times, I tell our scouts that a compass w/o a map and the ability to know where you are on the map doesn't help very much. While not as accurate as a compass, she could have used the sun for basic directions.
15 Feb ’12
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I didn't know North Woods Law on animal planet was filming this
21 Feb ’12
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easytapper said
I'm not so sure. So many times, I tell our scouts that a compass w/o a map and the ability to know where you are on the map doesn't help very much. While not as accurate as a compass, she could have used the sun for basic directions.
You're correct of course. In this case, having a general sense of direction probably would have kept her from losing the trail to begin with. Obviously the sun was not enough to keep her oriented, which comes back into play of having some basic preparation skills for whatever you're undertaking. I volunteer with scouts as well, and providing an environment for boys to learn some of these things is an important resource to have available.
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