Even without having a full picture of the facts, it's still clear that they made some very basic errors and didn't seem to be very outdoor savvy. They were fortunate to run across a cabin. Reading the article it sounds like they had access to water but couldn't treat it. I agree 100% with the previous posters- drink the water and deal with the consequences later. In that area the water was probably fine, and of course it's easier to treat illnesses caused by water borne pathogens than it is to treat death from dehydration.

There's a risk of being a "Monday morning quarterback" but cases like this do offer instruction to us. We should examine cases like these to glean insights that can teach us something. It's easy to get turned around. The worst thing they did once they realized they were lost is to keep moving. It's human nature but the worst thing you can do. I'm not sure why they didn't build a signal fire once they reached the cabin; did they not have any means to build one or did it not occur to the them?
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“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman