Getting lost while you are out in the wilderness might be one of the worst things that could happen to you. Chances are you won't have cell reception, you won't be near any other humans and it can be dangerous out by yourself.
Amber VanHecke is a 24-year-old student who learned just how tough she could be. She was out near the Grand Canyon when GPS took her down a road that didn't exists and her car ran out of gas.
Amber didn't panic, but instead portioned out her supplies to last her 23 days. She had separated out her nuts, seeds, and dried fruits along with the noodles.
She managed to cook the noodles on the dashboard of her car when the sun was at its hottest.Amber also made a 10-foot-tall "HELP" and "S.O.S" signs out of rocks.
She thought she was saved when a truck drove by, but the driver didn't see her car and kept on going. After that, she made a barricade across the road so that any vehicles passing by would be forced to stop.
She started to make videos for her family to say goodbye, but then she made a decision. "I got tired of waiting to be rescued," she said on her GoFundMe page she set up to help cover her medical costs.
"I had no signal and no gps. So I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and hiked a total of 21-22 miles. I had to hike 11 miles east from my car just to get signal to call 911. Even then, the call dropped after 49 seconds and I had to pray they got enough info to find me."
Within 40 minutes of her call, an air ambulance spotted her car, along with the signs she had left pointing to the direction she was walking to look for help. They found her and airlifted her to a hospital.
She received treatment for exposure, dehydration as well as sunburns.
She's doing a lot better now, and has returned to school. The pilot who found her was impressed with her survival skills, saying that "she was a survive, she did a lot of things that helped her survive. Those notes were clues and those clues led us to where she was."
Good job Amber! Glad you kept your wits about you!