I agree about surviving in the desert. It's probably the scenario that intimidates me the most and the one that I'll put off of long as possible. (We're supposed to take a family trip to the Grand Canyon in 5 years. GULP! LOL!) Extra extra precautions would definitely be the order of the day. File a plan with a trusted friend, and then stick to it, and bring LOTS of water would probably be my top two priorities, followed closely by setting myself up to navigate at my destination.

Two things stood out for me about this story:

1. They told their friend they were either going to destination A or B, but then ended up going to destination C. Being found/finding rescue sounds completely accidental in this case. Spur of the moment trips make me a bit nervous, especially if we're out of town already. I said in an earlier thread that "I may have filed a trip plan" when we talked about the family that got lost on a vacation to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. What do YOU do when you are on vacation and want to make a stop like that? Who do you tell/how do you file your plan? Do tell the hotel when the expect you back?

2. They tried to conserve their water by drinking urine. Pee drinking aside, I've heard conflicting advice about conserving your water in a situation like that: Is water best conserved inside us or rationed?