There's probably more to be learned from this story than from all those horror stories about people totally lost without any clue what so ever...

What really is an eye opener for me is the obvious deteriation caused by dehydration - and how hard it can be to drink enough. I have a pretty liberal view on drinking untreated water (obviously not recommended everywhere), but still it can be a challenge to drink enough.

Dehydration may actually have been an important factor when getting lost. Neither body nor mind is at its best when you're dehydrated, and it takes a fresh mind (or some mind shattering evidence) to realize you're not where you think you are.

That this can happen so quickly to an experienced outdoors person is an important lesson for me.