...I wonder if substance consumption or mental limitations...
Yes, my thoughts, too...especially the substance consumption whether snorted, huffed, toked or drunk.
Yes, the trail is well-traveled, but when the sun sets and the "lights go out" up there then you got problems...that brush is so thick you focus more on the brush in front of you than focusing at your feet...you can walk just six feet off-trail up there at night and you got problems...especially if you cannot see the trail in pitch black darkness...and if you don't know how to navigate by the stars...it was a waning gibbous moon that night.
Several years ago, there was another incident where part of a large group of people of a hiking club had to be airlifted out of the same general area in Orange County. The group had split (no sweep) and that is when the fit hit the shan. The groups lost sight of each other. They had to make their way back using the light of their cellphones. They had to be airlifted. All made it out safely.
There are many times when I have stayed in a hotel room and stubbed my toe or bumped into something...yeah, I know it's there, but I didn't think I was that close. You would figure I would learn to turn the damn light on. My point: If you can lose your bearings in a hotel room and even your own house, then throw in some wilderness.
