I'm just a beginner at this whole survival issue, so I'll throw my opinions out to help me learn. Obviously, they made two mistakes that added to their risk, but since they made it out, no problem-

- They left the scene. Even though it seemed nobody was coming for them, they did. They could have gotten lost and in a lot more trouble. They were lucky to make it to a road.

- When they did leave, assuming the footprints would have been enough to let searchers know they had left. They had note paper, it would have been a good idea to leave a note.