Hiking can be different: a large company to the lake, on low rocky ridges or in the mountains. Most often, such trips bring a lot of positive emotions, but in some cases they end tragically… Geraldine Largay, whom friends called simply Jerry, went missing on June 22, 2013 in the Appalachian Mountains, located in the eastern United States.
A 66-year-old retired nurse went hiking with a group of tourists. She traveled a long way on foot, until the moment of her disappearance, Jerry walked more than 1,600 kilometers along the Appalachian Trail, which began near her home in Tennessee, this is an incredible distance even for young tourists, and for a retired grandmother it’s just incredible. 
The woman quickly found friends, the trip was just fine. Although other tourists noted that Geraldine could lag behind the group, but still she kept up well! However, at one point, Jerry simply disappeared when she left the trail to relieve herself. The head of the tourist team did not wait for Geraldine’s return, she seemed to have fallen through the ground!
So there was no news about the woman for more than 2 years. The only thing left after her is a photo taken in the morning before the disappearance in field conditions. This is all that was in memory of the missing husband George and daughter Kerry… However, 2 years after the disappearance of the woman, Jerry’s notes were found on a trail in the Appalachians. 
Her diary revealed the light on what happened to her. Investigators managed to reconstruct the events of two years ago. So, the documents show that Largay tried to text her husband after she got lost. Here is the text of the message: “I have big problems. I lost my way. Call my group, maybe an escort will help. I’m somewhere north of the forest road.”
The message was never delivered due to poor communication in the mountains… The woman tried to send it several more times, but to no avail. Then she went to settle down for the night. The next day, Jerry tried to contact her husband again, but she never succeeded… However, George himself began to make attempts to find his missing wife, because he was very worried about her. 
The day after Geraldine’s disappearance, an official search began, involving planes, dogs, police, and rangers. However, the efforts of a huge number of people were in vain, Jerry was never found alive. The matter was complicated by the fact that the trails were flooded with heavy rains. At the same time, Jerry was not very well prepared for the hike.
She didn’t really know how to use a compass and was quite weak physically. According to the diary entries, it was obvious that the woman had been fighting for life for a long time before she died. The magazine was found with Jerry’s remains. From the moment of her disappearance to her death, it took 26 whole days of hope, faith in a miracle, and then acceptance of the inevitable… 
Two weeks after Geraldine got lost, she wrote in her diary: “When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry.” The woman wanted her loved ones to know how and where she died. And it doesn’t matter how many years will pass after this tragic event. In the notebook there were numerous messages to her husband, as well as explanations of what happened on the hike.
Jerry took a wrong turn off the trail, lost the right turn, so she couldn’t go back. The woman found a place where she pitched a tent and waited for help. However, her haven was very unfortunate… Jerry kept records for almost a month, indicating the dates, while adding that she was not sure of their accuracy. The woman’s body was discovered by a forester in October 2015, 2 years after her disappearance. 
There was a flattened tent, a backpack, a sleeping bag, personal belongings, diary entries. The parking lot was very difficult to find, it was deep in the forest, far from the trails. The tent was located under large trees, so it was simply impossible to see it from the plane. The saddest thing is that the camp was two kilometers from the trail! Jerry was so close to being saved! It took only 30 minutes to get to the road.
But it was difficult to determine the right direction because of the dense forest. Unfortunately, Jerry was never able to do it… She died without waiting for help, but taking care that the news of her death was delivered to her husband and daughter. When going on a hike, be sure to prepare properly. Simple knowledge of how to use a compass, find food in the forest, determine the cardinal directions can save your life.