‘When you find my body’: The last days of hiker Gerry Largay - The Boston Globe

Scary indeed. I was hiking a section of the AT in Maine about 100 miles south of where she disappeared in September that same year. I remember hearing about her. It is easy to lose the trail when you step off of it. Hiking solo can be a spiritual experience, but it comes with great risk. In two weeks I will be back on the trail for 5 days. I am hiking the New Jersey section (74 miles) with my brother-in-law. I am sure we will be discussing Mrs. Largay's experience ad nauseam. I will let her be a reminder to me to not take anything for granted while hiking deep in the woods.

The Boy Scouts teach the best advice: "Be prepared". If you're going to accept the risks involved in hiking by yourself, "Be Prepared". For $15 you can buy a Topo Map and a compass (I never hike a trail without one). For as low as $25 you can buy a Chinese handheld Ham radio, set it to the local repeater and its almost as good as a cell phone. If you can't get a signal through during the day, climb to the highest point and wait for night fall when the signal propagation is much better. For $150 you can buy a spot transmitter that uses the GPS Satellites to signal your exact location in an emergency.

My wife has pointed to this incident to say I'm not allowed to hike alone....

That said, I know she is praying overtime I find someone ELSE to go with as she is less than enthusiastic about the idea of the AT