A woman journeyed into the Colorado backcountry without food or a phone as part of a ”spiritual experience with nature” — and found herself lost alone in the wilderness, officials say.
The woman, 53-year-old Gina Chase of Victoria, Canada, was lost in the backcountry for four days with little more than an emergency blanket, whistle, power bar and some water until rescuers with San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office found her, the agency said on Facebook.
She had ventured into the woods with a group of eleven campers participating in a nature ”quest” program run by the “Animas Valley Institute” out of Durango, officials said in the Aug. 17 post.
The group describes the quests as a “vision fast” or a sort of rite of passage for “those seeking greater depth and clarity about life purpose and meaning ,” according to the group’s website. The programs cost between $2,000 and $3,000 .
Chase set out on her solo journey from the Lone Cone trailhead at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, officials said.
Participants were discouraged from bringing phones and other electronic devices, and were encouraged “to fast on their so-called ‘quests’ to ‘maximize a spiritual experience with nature,’” officials said.
The campers used a buddy system to keep track of each other, and Chase’s “buddy” arrived back at camp on Thursday, Aug. 15 and discovered she hadn’t “checked in,” officials said. They reported her absence to one of the guides, who searched her campsite and “determined Gina perhaps did not sleep there the preceding night,” officials said.
Animas guides searched on their own for a few hours before calling the sheriff’s dispatch around 2 p.m., officials said. Rescuers searched for her on the ground and in the air with helicopters, and didn’t find her until Saturday, Aug. 17.
The group posted a statement on Facebook after Chase was found, saying staff were “overjoyed at this wonderful news” and thanking search and rescue personnel.
“The Animas Valley Institute has run backcountry programs in Colorado since 1980 with no serious incidents,” the statement said. “The safety of our participants remains our highest priority.”
The group did not allow comments on the post and referred McClatchy News to its online statement when contacted for comment. Several people criticized the program in comments on the sheriff’s office Facebook post.
“A ‘group’ that suggests that people should go hiking alone without proper nourishment and cellphone should be held accountable,” someone said. “That is absolutely ludicrous!”
“Spiritual quest. Dehydration will definitely take you on one. How sad,” someone replied.
Several comments suggested the program should be held accountable or shut down.
“The guide service should be fined and prohibited from further excursions,” someone said. “Their ignorance placed hikers and emergency responders at risk.”
“She probably paid this tour good money to take her out and risk her life…” another person said.
The sheriff’s office warned hikers to never go into the backcountry alone.
“You should always bring technology for communications. Furthermore you should not starve yourself even if a ‘guide’ service suggests the opposite of these basic safety rules,” San Miguel County Sheriff William S. Masters said in the Facebook post. “Nature does not care about your safety and will kill you especially if you are not properly prepared.”
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