ACTIVE SEARCH JAPAN - Patricia "Pattie" Wu-Murad, 60, US Citizen, on hiking trip Kumano Kodo Trail, didn't arr next stop Osaka, 10 Apr 2023

[LifeIsAMystery]

Yes, I think Pattie experienced that same physiological shock that I did when I got lost.

Going from "having fun" to.... its now dusk, I gave my map away, the signs are not "working" for some reason and.... I am alone with no cell reception was very similar to a "flight or fight" response:

- I suddenly experienced an adrenline rush. I started walking faster. I was eager to see over the next hill or around the next bend. I "knew" that the correct trail must be just... over there- right?

- My thinking became hyper focused on the trail. Yet, I did not immediately connect that I was speed walking in circles

- Analytical thinking shut down: I did not consider the following: Can be more than one way off this mesa? The trail head was at low elevation- right? What if somebody twisted that sign- I have passed it twice now?

- I got tunnel vision. I only saw directly in front of me. Everything else was a blur. Mesas can have "draws" where water drains off. These can be official or unofficial ways down. Yet, I never looked for one.

In the end, I was lucky. My tunnel vision cleared up. I was able to start thinking again. The terrain was pretty open, and.... then I saw a rural road in the distance.

Glad you were ok!

 

[Charlot123]

Yes, I think Pattie experienced that same physiological shock that I did when I got lost.

Going from "having fun" to.... its now dusk, I gave my map away, the signs are not "working" for some reason and.... I am alone with no cell reception was very similar to a "flight or fight" response:

- I suddenly experienced an adrenline rush. I started walking faster. I was eager to see over the next hill or around the next bend. I "knew" that the correct trail must be just... over there- right?

- My thinking became hyper focused on the trail. Yet, I did not immediately connect that I was speed walking in circles

- Analytical thinking shut down: I did not consider the following: Can be more than one way off this mesa? The trail head was at low elevation- right? What if somebody twisted that sign- I have passed it twice now?

- I got tunnel vision. I only saw directly in front of me. Everything else was a blur. Mesas can have "draws" where water drains off. These can be official or unofficial ways down. Yet, I never looked for one.

In the end, I was lucky. My tunnel vision cleared up. I was able to start thinking again. The terrain was pretty open, and.... then I saw a rural road in the distance.

OK. Understand. Panic plus sundowning effect? We all orient much worse in the darkness, our eyes are not made for it. Plus, realistically, vitamin A is the only one not recommended to supplement exogenously. So our rods are scanty and some of us might have a degree of nocturnal blindness due to retinol deficiency. And the picture suddenly gets from 3D to “flat”.

Night panic is another common thing. Nights for our ancestors were scary. Animals, sudden attacks. The fire helped. So…having no source of external light can subject one to primal fear. I know people who attach an extra lamp to the windshield when driving, of purple color, to facilitate adaptation from light to darkness. I don’t know why purple.

Do we know when Patricia started her hiking that day, and when was the sunset?
Also, that owner of the house she stayed in, who sees people out, where does he say good-bye to them? It is something that other tourists may testify to.

I am very sorry for the fear you felt, but it is the normal response and the normal, expected shift in perception.

I wonder if Patty was a morning person and started her hike in dusk that morning?

ETA: I can offer the explanation why your thinking was hyperfocused on that trail. We humans have rather narrow field of vision as opposed to dogs or hares, so looking straight is typical for us, but this is where there are very few rods, they are on the retinal periphery but at daytime we don’t use it. So you were trying to “wake up” the rods in the center. Makes total sense, but one does feel panic at such moments.

 

[vls12345]

I thought the keeper of the place she stayed the previous night either walked her to the trailhead that morning or pointed it out to Pattie because it could be a little tricky to find.... Iirc.

Does anyone else remember discussion about that?

 

[slowpoke]

I thought the keeper of the place she stayed the previous night either walked her to the trailhead that morning or pointed it out to Pattie because it could be a little tricky to find.... Iirc.

Does anyone else remember discussion about that?

Yes, we here at first thought the keeper walked her to the trailhead, but then we heard she was only pointed towards the right direction. Maybe 1/4 mile away from the trail.

I had posted about how I saw a photo of the elderly woman host raising both arms to say goodbye, standing by what looks to be at some sort of general store, which may be just around the bend from the minshoku. This is some person’s blog from years ago.
I didn’t know if it’s ok to link it, but Google “Kohechi Day 4: Totsukawa Onsen - Randomwire” to see the post and photo.

 

[slowpoke]

This is an news article in the Japanese language about the finding of the backpack. Saw on the HelpFindPattie FB page.

行方不明アメリカ人女性の名前が入ったリュック発見 十津川村｜NHK 奈良県のニュース

【NHK】去年（２０２３年）４月、奈良県と和歌山県にまたがる世界遺産の「熊野古道」を訪れ、行方がわからなくなっているアメリカ人女性の名前が入ったリュ…

www3.nhk.or.jp

One thing new I noted is that it said of the state of the backpack (through Google Translate):

 

[celinesleuth]

Yes, I think Pattie experienced that same physiological shock that I did when I got lost.

Going from "having fun" to.... its now dusk, I gave my map away, the signs are not "working" for some reason and.... I am alone with no cell reception was very similar to a "flight or fight" response:

- I suddenly experienced an adrenline rush. I started walking faster. I was eager to see over the next hill or around the next bend. I "knew" that the correct trail must be just... over there- right?

- My thinking became hyper focused on the trail. Yet, I did not immediately connect that I was speed walking in circles

- Analytical thinking shut down: I did not consider the following: Can be more than one way off this mesa? The trail head was at low elevation- right? What if somebody twisted that sign- I have passed it twice now?

- I got tunnel vision. I only saw directly in front of me. Everything else was a blur. Mesas can have "draws" where water drains off. These can be official or unofficial ways down. Yet, I never looked for one.

In the end, I was lucky. My tunnel vision cleared up. I was able to start thinking again. The terrain was pretty open, and.... then I saw a rural road in the distance.

Your experience sounds horrifying. I'm so glad you're okay.
Accounts like this are why I believe that even the most (seemingly) experienced wilderness-survivalist-hiker-outdoorsy person can suddenly make decisions that seem illogical or irrational to us. I think of Pattie often and I hope she is located soon, and hopefully we are one step closer to piecing together what happened

 

[Quim The Extraordinaire]

It seems quite fortunate that Pattie’s email in the ziplock bag was still in the backpack. Perhaps she had it well-protected in an inner zippered compartment. She seemed to take those kind of precautions. I’m sorry that didn’t prevent her disappearance. Strength to her loved ones.

IMO MOO etc.