79 yr old cruise passenger lost in alaska forest overnight

[Duffysmom]

A 79-year-old cruise ship passenger got lost on a solo hike near an Alaska glacier and spent a night in the forest without camping gear but walked to safety the next day.

 

A search on Wednesday night failed to find the woman but she hiked to Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Thursday morning, the Juneau Empire reported.

 

'She's a hardy soul,' said Kirby Day, port manager for Princess Cruises said of the Ontario, Canada woman.

 

'She is a strong lady, and she knew what she was doing. She did all the right things except for making one wrong turn.'

 

A 79-year-old cruise ship passenger got lost on a solo hike near an Alaska glacier and spent a night in the forest without camping gear before walking to Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center (pictured) the next day

 

The woman, whose name was not released, was a passenger on the 965-foot Coral Princess, which has 1,000 passenger cabins and a crew of 895.

 

Nikki Hinds, assistant director of the visitor center, said the woman left on an independent hike of the East Glacier Trail and veered onto the Nugget Creek Trail.

 

As night fell Wednesday, she became disoriented and she decided to spend the night on the trail.

 

Juneau police organized a multi-agency search and looked for the hiker until midnight after the woman missed her ship, which left the port at about 4pm.

 

The woman left on an independent hike of the East Glacier Trail (bottom right) and veered onto the Nugget Creek Trail (top right). As night fell, she became disoriented and decided to spend the night on the trail. The next morning she arrived at the visitor center (left) tired and wet, but in good shape

 

The woman had traveled independently about 12 miles to the glacier and her hike was not part of a tour.

 

Police and cruise ship employees called tour groups and hotels seeking information.

 

A patrol officer spent four hours downtown asking people if they had seen the woman.

 

The woman appeared at the visitor center at about 9.30am on Thursday tired and wet, but in good shape..

 

'She didn't have camping gear, but she wore layers and a rain coat,' Hinds said.

 

'I'm sure she was still cold, but it was a happy ending when she came in this morning.'

 

The woman, whose name was not released, was a passenger on the 965-foot Coral Princess, which has 1,000 passenger cabins and a crew of 895 (pictured)

 

Mendenhall Glacier with detached iceberg, near Juneau, Alaska, pictured above. The woman had traveled independently about 12 miles to the glacier and her hike was not part of a tour.

 

Police officers picked the woman up from the glacier and drove her to the airport where she flew to Ketchikan and rejoined her ship, Day said.

 

'This was one of those ones that turned out good,' he said.

 

'We've had a couple over the years that didn't.

 

UK DAILY MAIL

Edited August 6, 2016 by Duffysmom

[elliair]

I bet she won't be doing that again. We did the same hike but it was a paid excursion with Princess. It was a tough trail, several in our group were over the age of 70 but you could tell they were experienced hikers. I'm glad it was a happy ending.

Edited August 6, 2016 by elliair

[Lucky TGO]

She was very lucky nothing happen to her.

Tony

[Thrak]

D'Oh! I can imagine it wasn't the best night she ever had but it seems like she must be pretty together to get through the night and make it back to the Visitor Center. A great many people wouldn't have managed so well. I bet she was one tired (and probably embarrassed) lady.

[ginabab]

Scary stuff I hate it when trails aren't marked I wonder if these were

[Colo Cruiser]

I bet she won't be doing that again.

 

 

 

I would bet she does.

[Cruise Raider]

79 years old ... that's incredible!! I only hope to be that hardy when I reach that age.

[cruiselvr1]

A 79-year-old cruise ship passenger got lost on a solo hike near an Alaska glacier and spent a night in the forest without camping gear but walked to safety the next day.

 

A search on Wednesday night failed to find the woman but she hiked to Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Thursday morning, the Juneau Empire reported.

 

'She's a hardy soul,' said Kirby Day, port manager for Princess Cruises said of the Ontario, Canada woman.

 

'She is a strong lady, and she knew what she was doing. She did all the right things except for making one wrong turn.'

 

A 79-year-old cruise ship passenger got lost on a solo hike near an Alaska glacier and spent a night in the forest without camping gear before walking to Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center (pictured) the next day

 

The woman, whose name was not released, was a passenger on the 965-foot Coral Princess, which has 1,000 passenger cabins and a crew of 895.

 

Nikki Hinds, assistant director of the visitor center, said the woman left on an independent hike of the East Glacier Trail and veered onto the Nugget Creek Trail.

 

As night fell Wednesday, she became disoriented and she decided to spend the night on the trail.

 

Juneau police organized a multi-agency search and looked for the hiker until midnight after the woman missed her ship, which left the port at about 4pm.

 

The woman left on an independent hike of the East Glacier Trail (bottom right) and veered onto the Nugget Creek Trail (top right). As night fell, she became disoriented and decided to spend the night on the trail. The next morning she arrived at the visitor center (left) tired and wet, but in good shape

 

The woman had traveled independently about 12 miles to the glacier and her hike was not part of a tour.

 

Police and cruise ship employees called tour groups and hotels seeking information.

 

A patrol officer spent four hours downtown asking people if they had seen the woman.

 

The woman appeared at the visitor center at about 9.30am on Thursday tired and wet, but in good shape..

 

'She didn't have camping gear, but she wore layers and a rain coat,' Hinds said.

 

'I'm sure she was still cold, but it was a happy ending when she came in this morning.'

 

The woman, whose name was not released, was a passenger on the 965-foot Coral Princess, which has 1,000 passenger cabins and a crew of 895 (pictured)

 

Mendenhall Glacier with detached iceberg, near Juneau, Alaska, pictured above. The woman had traveled independently about 12 miles to the glacier and her hike was not part of a tour.

 

Police officers picked the woman up from the glacier and drove her to the airport where she flew to Ketchikan and rejoined her ship, Day said.

 

'This was one of those ones that turned out good,' he said.

 

'We've had a couple over the years that didn't.

 

UK DAILY MAIL

I bet she wasn't a smoker.

[elliair]

I would bet she does.

 

Ya think? She missed the ship.;)

[riclop]

Glad it all turned out ok.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Yikes! That lady's in better shape than me, and I'm half her age! Kudos to her for making it through an Alaska night, but boy I hope she doesn't hike alone again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[IsanTom]

Hiked 12 miles to a glacier at 79! God Bless Her!

[satxdiver]

Surviving that ordeal says to me that she is an experienced hiker in the woods and knew what to do. The worst thing she could have done was try to hike out in the dark even if she had a light source. One needs to stay put once darkness falls until daylight the next day. This time of year it is daylight from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM in Juneau. Right now the low temps are in the middle to low 50F's. Glad she was able to survive the ordeal on her own. My only recommendation if she wanted to take a long hike again in wilderness is that she procure a handheld GPS and use it.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thank goodness she is ok. Maybe it's just me but I don't think it's very wise to hike in the wilderness alone. Anything can happen out there, from illness to injuries.

[easyboy]

A 79-year-old cruise ship passenger got lost on a solo hike near an Alaska glacier and spent a night in the forest without camping gear but walked to safety the next day.

Great she is safe!