I think most here know that it's usually best to stay put. Your vehicle is much easier to see from the air than you are and it's usually easier to survive if you put your efforts into surviving instead of traveling and surviving. However, If my car breaks down just blocks from the house, I'm clearly not going to wait to be saved. I'll just walk home. And it sounds to me that given the people involved and when outside help might arrive, hiking out just wasn't that much of a stretch for them.

Not knowing more, I might have been inclined to stay on the road more since there would be a higher chance of running into someone and less of a chance of spraining something.

Also, anticipated weather would impact my decision. In the fall, when a surprise blizzard might be just around the corner, hiking out that day in mild weather may make a lot more sense than waiting for a storm to hit during the days it may take for friends to realize you never checked in yesterday like you said you would because your friends got distracted by their own problems.