'Great team effort': Alaska Hiker chased off trail by bears, returns home after two days

A story of survival featuring a female Alaskan hiker, who traced her way back home two days after she was chased off-trail by bears, went viral and people around the world are praising her. According to Alaska News Source, 55-year-old Fina Kiefer was hiking alone on the 13.6-mile long Pioneer Peak Trail when she had run with a pair of bears. The wild encounter pushed her off her route and she lost contact with others.

It only was after one and a half days of struggle that Kiefer was finally able to regain contact with her husband and sent a text to him saying that she was chased away by bears. She also told him that she was left with only half a can of bear spray. However, problems increased further after the battery of her cellphone died, although she had climbed back on the mountain avoiding the risk of more bear encounters.

Rescue efforts

After Kiefer’s husband dialled to 911, members from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and MAT+SAR Search & Rescue swung into action. As per Senior Master Sgt. Evan Budd, Kiefer had a waterproof match stick and lit a fire during the one and half-day of her survival. In addendum, he said that she could also see helicopters searching for her, but the opposite was not possible as the hiker was in the woods. It was only after Kiefer made it out of the forest and got onto the road that volunteer searcher Stephen Dunphy found her and took her back to search basecamp. Alaska Mountain Rescue Group also shared the story and photographs from the rescue on their Facebook page.

The post garnered a myriad of comments from people across boundaries. "A great group of people. God bless you all," commented a user. "Great working with you again, thank you for what you do!," commented Alaska Air Ambulance who collaborated in the rescue mission. "I saw the news today about the Kiefer lady being rescued after bears tried to attack her. Always glad to hear good outcomes,' wrote another user. The hiker is now back home and her husband-Steve- couldn't be happier. As per Alaska News Source, several relatives of the avid hikers flew to her home to celebrate her return.

Image: Akmountainrescue/Facebook