Lost and Found: Sisters' Sunset Hike in Utah's Desert Unveils Unexpected Adventures

Undisclosed Location, Utah

We start this story with two young women, approximately 28 years old, hiking in Utah to an undisclosed active archeological dig site. My sister had heard about it from a friend and we knew to check in with the Ranger Station before heading there. It was June. June in Utah is hot. Very hot during the day, but could get very cold at night. We started the hike a few hours before sundown as it was a cooler part of the afternoon. As we parked, we started to get our bearings, but noticed another couple that seemed to be heading in the direction that we were headed. As this was an undisclosed location, there were no path markers, only some rocks and other natural cues that lead the way. We were led by the other couple; not the rocks and other natural cues.  Have you ever followed someone? You notice a whole lot less than if you were finding your own way. This becomes an important detail later in the story.

After arriving at the cave, we took hundreds of photos as the sun was setting. However, as we were not avid hikers and outdoorsy types, we decided to start back before it was dark. Unfortunately, the other couple decided to stay, as they were prepared to hike in the dark. We made it about halfway, and no longer recognized the next rock or other natural cue. We returned back to the last remembered rock formation, looked around, and tried another path. Then, we returned back to the last remembered rock formation, looked around, and tried another path. Then, we returned back to the last remembered rock formation, looked around, and tried another path; all the while, the sun continued to set, the temperature started to drop, and we were no closer to the car. If you haven’t caught on, I’m a bit older now, so this was before the time of GPS being installed on every phone and we had no way to locate the car beyond trial and error on the paths. So, we tried another path. You’re likely wondering how many stinking paths there were in this area, but it’s the desert, not the forest, and it’s pretty wide open for options. One of the times that we found ourselves at the last remembered rock formation, we discussed staying until the couple returned, but there was no way to know if we’d already have missed them or if they were planning to come back the same way, so we continued down another path. I found out years later, that my sister was pretty panicked at this point, but honestly, she never showed it. We just continued try another option until finally, we saw something we recognized and about 30 minutes later, we were at the car! Unfortunately, we missed a pretty epic sunset, but we did find our way home.

Bar Stool Talk: Have you ever found yourself lost during an outdoor adventure? Share your experience and how you managed to find your way back. Did the situation teach you anything valuable about navigating nature?