Scariest trail experience

[Shawn]

What has been your scariest experience on a hiking trail?

Why was it so scary? How did you respond to it?

 

[Driftwoody]

This occurred in the mid-90's. I had a map & compass, but no GPS or overnight gear. It was a 9 mile day hike loop with my wife and our yellow lab in the Wilson Creek Wilderness, North Carolina (just east of Linville Gorge). Several waterfalls and creek crossings.

More than halfway thru, the mostly unsigned trails became confusing, and we took a wrong turn. With sunset about an hour away I figured out our position on the map, and decided to take the shortest route to the nearest forest service road. We came out 7 miles from where our car was parked.

I left wife & dog at that trailhead where other vehicles were parked, and took off at a brisk pace on the gravel road with the little water we had left. In about 200 feet I remembered she was carrying the car key. That was a close call!

After about 3 miles I came to an expected intersection and pulled out the map to confirm which way to go, with just enough light left to read it (no headlamp).

I got lucky. Just then a pickup truck came down the road from the direction I needed to go, and I flagged him down. He was happy to give me a lift and a bottle of water.

Near total darkness when I got back to pick up wife & dog, who were very happy to see me.

 

[Shawn]

This occurred in the mid-90's. I had a map & compass, but no GPS or overnight gear. It was a 9 mile day hike loop with my wife and our yellow lab in the Wilson Creek Wilderness, North Carolina (just east of Linville Gorge). Several waterfalls and creek crossings.

More than halfway thru, the mostly unsigned trails became confusing, and we took a wrong turn. With sunset about an hour away I figured out our position on the map, and decided to take the shortest route to the nearest forest service road. We came out 7 miles from where our car was parked.

I left wife & dog at that trailhead where other vehicles were parked, and took off at a brisk pace on the gravel road with the little water we had left. In about 200 feet I remembered she was carrying the car key. That was a close call!

After about 3 miles I came to an expected intersection and pulled out the map to confirm which way to go, with just enough light left to read it (no headlamp).

I got lucky. Just then a pickup truck came down the road from the direction I needed to go, and I flagged him down. He was happy to give me a lift and a bottle of water.

Near total darkness when I got back to pick up wife & dog, who were very happy to see me.

I've been there but in the Shawnee where it's a little less remote!

 

[Jeff Ulrich]

I've watched a couple of videos on YT about Celine Cremer, a young woman who disappeared while solo hiking in Tasmania. There are a number of videos about her disappearance. Where she went missing is a fairly popular hiking area with trails to a waterfall and not all that remote from roads.

It appears from cell phone data of her position that she got caught out with darkness approaching. She seems to have left the trail to take a shortcut and then tried to find her way back in the dusk or full darkness through some rugged, wooded, and steep terrain. At some point she seems to have lost her phone. No trace has ever been found despite thorough searches.

It's likely she wandered in the darkness, missed the trail she had came in on, then continued on farther into the wilderness and away from trails and roads. By the time there was light again she could have become hopelessly lost. Sad.