This story is both creepy and compelling…the hard part ot figure out is why the experienced hiker didn’t figure out a way to escape like these boys did….
They found identification showing the camper was Donovan, 60, a retired social worker from Virginia. They learned later that he was an experienced hiker who had been following the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, from Southern California to the Canadian border, when he vanished May 2, 2005 in icy weather.
His journal, in the form of notes written on sketch paper and on the back of maps, depicted a man without hope of rescue, Day said.
“His last journal entry was one year ago to the day that we found it, which was very eerie,” Day said. “Nobody knew where he was, nobody knew to come looking for him, so he was preparing for the end. We were looking at the words of a man who was passing.”
They found salvation in his backpack: a warm sweater for Allen, dry socks for Day and matches. They lit a small signal fire and spotted a helicopter in the distance, but the crew did not see them.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060510/ap_on_re_us/lost_hikers_found_5