Bear reportedly chased hiker prior to her getting 'lost and disoriented' near popular waterfall

Additional details have been released related to a 20-hour search and rescue mission involving a 'bear scare' that took place at Colorado's popular Zapata Falls destination on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley.

According to Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue, a younger and "fairly athletic" out-of-state female hiker was in the area with a hiking partner on August 12 when the two intentionally split up, with the out-of-state female wanting to extend her adventure at the popular waterfall. Her hiking partner didn't want to continue, thus the two split up.

After the hiker who continued did not return as planned, an overdue hiker rescue mission was initiated, with search crews aware that the woman wasn't prepared to spend the night in the wilderness. On top of lacking the experience or equipment to do so, the missing hiker was also known to have type-one diabetes, relying on a battery-powered insulin pump to survive. Both the woman's phone and pump were said to have depleted batteries.

The urgency posed by the need for the insulin pump, along with incoming bad weather and the rugged terrain of the area prompted an emergency response.

During day one of the search, crews turned up few clues in regard to the missing hiker's whereabouts, though they did note a "peculiarly behaving" bear in the general area of the woman's last known location.

Nightfall prompted crews to postpone the search effort until the following morning, at which point the missing hiker was ultimately spotted from the air outside of the initial search range thanks to her bright red hoodie.

Despite having to spend the night in the backcountry with limited supplies and experience, the woman had only sustained minor injuries related to sunburn and dehydration.

As it turns out, the missing hiker encountered a black bear after the pair split up. She reports that the bear was about six feet away and that it charged her, keeping up with a chase for a bit. This resulted in the woman running further up the mountain, at which point she became lost and disoriented.

After rescuers found the woman, she was able to walk back to the trailhead with their assistance. Thankfully, the woman brought a bottle of 50 glucose pills to help her survive without the use of an insulin pump, with only two of those pills left by the time she was found.

"The quick actions and coordinated response of rescuers and all of the agencies involved were able to thwart an imminently more tragic outcome," read a release from Alamosa Search and Rescue.

This situation highlights a few key pitfalls that can lead to a more dangerous experience on the trail.

Here's a quick list of lessons to be learned from this incident:

Splitting up with a partner is typically not a great idea, especially without a prior plan to do so or without a rigid plan for what happens after the split.Bright clothing can be helpful when it comes to being spotted amid natural terrain. The woman's red hoodie proved key to her rescue.Dealing with medical conditions in the backcountry can be difficult and unpredictable, making it worth having a first plan, a second plan, a third plan, and so on. In this case, the woman did have the glucose pills she needed to survive, though her supply was dwindling quickly, as she was likely not planning to be away from a functioning insulin pump for so long.Plan for maintaining a means of communication with the 'outside' world. Cell phones can die and may not even have connection with a full battery in the backcountry, thus having a secondary communication device that utilizes GPS, such as a Garmin inReach product, can be crucial for expediting rescues and emergency responses.Those who end up lost should stop moving and stay put. This allows for a grid-style search pattern to be used and can also prevent someone from traveling even further off-trail.

If you're interested in supporting Colorado's volunteer-powered search and rescue operation, one way to do so is through the purchase of a CORSAR card . It's cheap, at only $5 per year.

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