What is your experience with back-country trips or hiking? What did you think of the group’s preparation and overall experience level?

What is your experience with back-country trips or hiking? What did you think of the group’s preparation and overall experience level?

My experiences have been short and I have always done them with someone who knows what they are doing. I honestly do not like camping or backpacking. (My husband is the exact opposite.) I hate carrying a backpack and I hate sleeping on the ground.

These women were just flat out DUMB. How stupid can you be to think you'd have cellphone service in the wilderness? They made no preparation for the experience or for any possible problems that might happen.

I would say that my experience is limited. I've camped and hiked, but not all that often. I love it though. I think these women were not prepared at all. I mean, you don't buy new boots for a three day hike in the wilderness.

Now that I am older I only do day hikes. But when I was younger and married my husband and I did week long hikes in the Cascades and Olympics, Washington State. He was very prepared. I would never hike with anyone who was not prepared. These people were not prepared and it is a shame that the owners of this business would send these people out into this wild wilderness.

My experience is never veering off the marked trails.
I didn't think the ladies were very prepared. Although Lauren & Alice had some experience, it had been many years & in a different location.

I have taken a number of day hikes with various people throughout my life. I don't do backpacking. I started when I was a kid with adults who knew what they were doing. I've always gone with people who were prepared. I wouldn't go with someone who wasn't prepared. The company who ran this event didn't prepare the women and the women didn't prepare themselves. This event should never have happened.

I've done extensive backpacking and I was rather horrified that the company putting on the show let them go without a guide or without any kind of safety precautions at all. Some sort of satellite communicator - one of those emergency locator devices - should have been supplied at the very least in case of injury.

I have done some hiking in places where there were risks and I think being prepared is key. It sounds like the back country they entered was a rough place and one in which getting lost would not be difficult. Doesn't sound like a good decision to not have had a guide for relatively (and some completely) inexperienced people.

I went on a white water rafting trip, totally unprepared, and my best friend almost died. Our experience was that we came together as a group with a new found determination to survive the 8 hour long ordeal. It has bonded us in a new way as never before. That night we camped out savoring the meal we ate and the wine we drank and slept like babies though we were in sleeping bags on the ground. Our senses were totally heightened and we were all grateful to have made it back alive!

All of you brought up good points. It all started with the tour company not preparing and outfitting the group with emergency equipment. Or at the very least having a guide trailing the groups to keep them on course. I'm sure they covered their butts by having everyone sign a waiver. The group had individuals with various levels of experience but that is still no excuse for management, and the tour company, not to ensure the safety of all employees.

I haven't much experience with back-country trips. However, I felt these women were very inexperienced and set up for failure. Alice and Lauren had some experience from their school days but couldn't agree on what to do. Alice just took over. I realize they were to work as a team and build a relationship through the experience. It's not a good idea to throw novices into such a situation. It seems the tour company could have had someone checking on the progress of their group to ensure their safety.

Don’t have much experience! These women definitely needed more preparation, and an experienced guide with them. But having said that, that’s what supplied the crisis for the book’s plot!

I am not a camper or a hiker and have never done any of it! This group of women were ill-prepared for this type of adventure in my uninformed opinion.

I love this question. I'm basically a coward and have no sense of direction so would never go alone or with someone who wasn't experienced. (Read about my honeymoon to see how I fared going camping with those who were experienced.) One of my favorite books ever is Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Her hiking boots didn't fit. Who goes on a trip like that--alone, with shoes that don't fit. A 22-year-old who thought she had nothing to lose, no training or experience, not much preparation. I don't think this group had nearly enough preparation, no experience, and their company was way off-base.

I am from the flat state of Indiana. Did some hiking in state parks as a teenager, but that was very limited. I think my "hiking experiences" are more likely to come from books.

I heartily agree with the other responses. I have done some day hikes all over the world . We always had an experienced guide with us who kept track of everyone in the group. Often there were members of the group with little experience, and some with great experience. It's the guide's job to look out for everyone. It's the hikers job to stay with the group and not take unnecessary risks which will affect everyone. These women were definitely NOT prepared to hike in a wilderness area without a guide. The tour company should have been more responsible for their welfare.