ONE WRONG TURN

Posted on 08/12/2016 | About Alaska

Last week a cruise passenger from Ontario went on a hike by herself when the Coral Princess docked in Juneau Alaska. She intended to follow a 5.6 km (3.5 mile) loop that should have taken her a couple of hours. Instead she got disoriented and became the target of an investigation when she didn’t return to the ship at departure time.

The 79-year-old woman was hiking the East Glacier, but got lost on the Nugget Creek Trail, where she eventually fell asleep in a forest near the glacier.
When she hadn’t returned to the ship by the 4:00 pm departure time authorities launched a search for her and continued to search until midnight.
In the morning, the woman hiked to the visitor centre. Police officers drove her to the airport and she flew to Ketchikan to rejoin her ship.
Speaking to local newspaper Juneau Empire, Nikki Hinds, assistant director of the visitor centre, said the woman "didn't have camping gear, but she wore layers and a rain coat. I'm sure she was still cold, but it was a happy ending when she came in this morning".
"She's a hardy soul," said Kirby Day, port manager for Princess Cruises. "She is a strong lady, and she knew what she was doing. She did all the right things except for making one wrong turn."