Put my vote in for hiking out. Most likely I would have voted to stay on the road for many of the reasons others have pointed out. I don't know if anyone else mentioned it but if you stay on the road you have, at least, some change of being spotted/picked-up mid way.
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"There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother." -Theodore Roosevelt