Three Days Lost in Jackson Forest: “Wonder Woman” 71, was OK but Missing all this Gear — Check Our Safety Kit Before You Go Hiking!

Somewhere out there is Wonder Woman. Turns out she’s real — she’s 71 — and she just spent three days and nights lost in Jackson Forest before anyone even knew she was missing. No food, no water, no gear. When Skunk Train railbike guides finally found her, she thanked everyone, waved off the ambulance, climbed into her car, and drove herself home to Upper Lake. Wonder Woman indeed.

We don’t have her name — and that’s fine. We could legally press for it, but in this case the authorities were wise to hold it back without her permission. Yes, people lost in the woods are news, and the public needs certain details: when someone is missing, what’s being done to find them, and basic descriptors like age and gender. We got all of that. What we don’t need is to turn a 71‑year‑old survivor into a spectacle when she clearly wanted to go home, rest, and get on with her life. We got all that.

She drove over for what she thought would be a spectacular hike, and she got that… plus a whole lot more. Nobody even knew she was missing until someone noticed her truck sitting at the Chamberlain Creek Waterfall Trail. Turns out it had been there at least three days. No sign of anyone.

This is a fairly well‑used area near Camp 20 — the best pull‑off between Fort Bragg and Willits — where hikers head up the trail to see the Chamberlain Creek Waterfall. And yet she vanished into the forest without anyone realizing she was gone.

The missing‑person alert finally came when a Jackson Demonstration State Forest Fire Prevention officer contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report a 2014 Buick SUV that had been sitting at the Chamberlain Creek Waterfall Trailhead for at least three days. Her vehicle was parked on Road 200 off Highway 20 — a clear sign that someone was missing.

Chamberlain Creek Falls Trail – Jackson State Forest, CA

The Sheriff’s Office immediately began organizing a search and putting out a call for volunteers.

But just then — the rescue was already underway.

Two Skunk Train railbike guides were in the process of rescuing her that very minute. Phones don’t work out there, but Wonder Woman walked out of the woods and approached people eating lunch near Camp Noyo — three miles from where she started, but a wild, wilderness world away.

The guides activated the SOS feature on a Garmin satellite GPS device they carried. The forest is so deep and remote that even the satellite signal struggled at first. Eventually they reached the Skunk Train offices, which relayed the SOS to Cal OES. From there, the alert went to Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dispatch — where deputies had just begun organizing a search for the very same woman.

Getting to her wasn’t simple. There’s no driving into that stretch of forest unless a CalFire employee with a key to the gates is along. So the CalFire–Sheriff’s team made their way through the woods to the Skunk Train tracks, arriving just before 1 p.m. on the 18th.

The woman told authorities she had been out there for three days and three nights — and part of a fourth day. When an ambulance was suggested, she insisted she was fine. Deputies escorted her down the locked roads to where medical crews were waiting. She told them to “hang on,” stepped aside briefly, then returned, got checked out, and climbed right back into the patrol car.

Deputies drove her back to her own vehicle. She waved, got in, and drove herself home.

The public would likely never have heard about any of this if not for a Skunk Train press release thanking their railbike guides for the heroic rescue. That single announcement is what brought the whole story into daylight.

The discovery of the woman was fortuitous at worst and a miracle at best. Had she emerged from the woods at any other moment, she would have found no one there — no lunch break, no railbike guides, no help. This was only the second Skunk Railbike excursion out of Willits this year.

She had traveled three miles past Chamberlain Creek Waterfall — and that’s assuming she walked in anything close to a straight line. In this terrain, three miles can mean ridges, ravines, and a whole wilderness world away from where she started.

Chamberlain Creek Falls Trail – Jackson State Forest, CA

While this story ended well, it could easily have turned tragic. Jackson Forest is magnificent, gigantic, and astonishingly easy to get lost in. Frank manages it almost every time he heads out with his camera, wandering miles before realizing he’s turned around.

I, however, have a secret device better than any GPS: my dog Brutus. My German Shepherd/Malinois, now ten. Years ago I trained him by hiding cheese in the car and following him back to it. Now I just say “car,” and he heads straight for it. He’s aging, and we’re hoping Caesar will learn the trick, but Brutus is still so proud of this ability. Once I even argued with him, insisting the car was the other direction. He gave me a disgusted look and trotted off the right way — follow if you want, dude.

How to Avoid Becoming the Next Wonder Woman Story

(Barring a trained dog or horse…)

Before You Go

• Tell someone where you’re hiking and when you expect to be back.
• Study a paper map of Jackson Forest ahead of time.
• Get a mental sketch of the terrain — roads, ridges, Skunk Train tracks.

What to Pack (the essentials)

• Two flashlights
• Whistle
• Compass
• Lighter
• Extra socks
• Warm coat or sweater
• Pocketknife
• At least one quart of water
• OR water + a small water‑purifying kit
• One granola or energy bar
  • (Avoid chocolate — it melts into pocket soup.)

Optional but Smart

• Sunscreen
• Bug repellent
• First‑aid kit
• Air horn
  • (Useful for mountain lions and for being heard.)
• Garmin or similar satellite GPS device
  • (A few hundred dollars — worth every penny when phones don’t work.)

If You Get Lost

• Head toward roads or the Skunk Train tracks if you can.
• Don’t follow rivers or creeks — around here they loop, tangle, and become impassable.
• Use any pre‑set phone compass or distress signal if you have one.

We hope Wonder Woman will give us a call for an interview and help with more wildlands education.

The Skunk Train’s press release follows:

What began as just the second Railbikes on the Noyo departure this season quickly turned into a successful emergency response when Skunk Train Railbike guides encountered a woman who had been lost in the redwood forest for several days.

During a scheduled Railbike excursion departing from the railroad’s Sherwood Road property, Railbike guides Xochitl Villa and Trevor Schieder were stopped at Camp Noyo for a lunch break with guests when they were approached by a woman in visible distress. The remote site, which remains closed to the public for the season, is typically unstaffed in the spring. It sits at mile post 16.4 on the California Western / Skunk Train’s track.

According to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the woman was reported missing after becoming disoriented while hiking the Chamberlain Creek Waterfall Trail in Jackson State Forest several days prior. Railbike guides on site also confirmed she had gone without food or water during that time.

Railbike guides immediately provided assistance and initiated an emergency response using a Garmin satellite-based SOS communication device. Due to limited satellite visibility within the dense redwood canopy, communication required coordination between on-site guides and railroad personnel off-site to relay critical information to first responders. Through that coordination, local authorities were able to reach the location and safely assist the individual.

Authorities confirmed she was safely reunited with her vehicle following the response. Out of respect for her privacy, no identifying information is being released.

“This is exactly the kind of situation our team is trained for,” said Efstathios Pappas, Skunk Train General Manager. “Our guides are prepared, equipped, and ready to respond when something unexpected happens out on the line. We take seriously the responsibility of being good stewards to the land and the forest community. We’re incredibly grateful we were there when we were and that she is now safe.”

The Railbikes on the Noyo route travels through a remote stretch of Mendocino County, crossing multiple  trestle bridges and passing historic stops along the Noyo River before arriving at Camp Noyo, where guests pause for a scheduled break. With limited access points and challenging terrain, areas like this can be difficult to navigate without support.

“As soon as she came up to us, we could tell she needed help right away,” said Xochitl Villa, Skunk Train Railbike guide. “It’s a remote stretch out there, and not somewhere you’d expect to run into help during this time of the season. We focused on keeping her calm, staying with her, and getting in touch with first responders as quickly as we could. We’re just really thankful we were there when we were.”

With Railbikes on the Noyo currently operating on a set schedule of Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the timing of the encounter was especially fortunate.

“Across the board our staff are second to none; they’re highly skilled in railroad safety operations as well as First Aid, CPR, and possess other critical wilderness lifesaving skills. This isn’t the first instance that the railroad staff and corridor have been called upon, and I am pleased that Xochitl, Trevor, and our depot operations staff were able to coordinate all of this so that the missing individual could be safely assisted,” said Robert Jason Pinoli, President and CEO of Mendocino Railway.

My nephew Joel Hartzell once worked as a Skunk Railbike guide himself — and he came home with some pretty great stories. This one, though, belongs to Wonder Woman. May she rest up, call us if she feels like talking, and help us keep teaching people how to stay safe in the wildlands we all love.