The Walk downhill and or follow a stream reminds me of the story of a couple who were visiting the San Jacinto mountain, went off trail and got lost for 3 days.

"In the morning, they struggled to follow a stream downhill through boulder-strewn terrain..."(1) which basically got them trapped.

Amazingly, they discovered the pack of a lost hiker who had died and were able to use the contents to eventually get rescued. The story was also featured on an episode of "I shouldn't be alive -Date from Hell (episode 43)



(1) https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-11-me-hikers11-story.html

See also:

http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Report_Lost_TwoHikers.htm