I just read a really sad story about a kid who got lost while hiking in Vietnam. You should read it. It's frustrating because he made a number of very basic errors that even the young kids in my scouting group know to avoid. He was alone. He lacked proper gear to survive changes in weather. He did not know his route. When he got lost, he kept moving instead of staying put. He also failed to let rescuers come to him.  He could very easily have been stayed if he had made all of these error s and just stayed put. I hope his friend doesn't feel too much guilt over this. It's not her fault but judging from the article, she blames herself. I can't imagine what his parents are going through. My mom is always worried when I go backpacking and she'd go crazy if anything like this happened to me.