“I have lost my path” — this was the last message a Kerala techie sent before her phone died during a trek in Karnataka’s Kodagu district. With no food in her backpack and her phone dead, she spent four days in the forest, waiting for rescue. She finally walked out on Sunday.

GS Sharanya, a 36-year-old IT professional from Nadapuram in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, had set out to climb Thadiyandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu.

“I reached on Wednesday and booked a homestay in a nearby village. The next morning, on Thursday, I reached the check post and began trekking at around 8 am,” she recalled.

Sharanya was initially trekking with a group of 12 people. They reached the peak by around 10:40 am and soon began descending — when she lost her way.

The Thadiyandamol trek is considered relatively easy, and Sharanya had planned to finish early to visit nearby places.

“I was moving ahead with two trekkers and was walking slightly faster. When I looked back, I saw them sitting on a rock, so I decided to wait. But when I looked again, they were nowhere to be seen,” she said.

She tried to reconnect with other trekkers but soon lost track of the route and ended up deep inside a dense forest.

Just before her phone died, the homestay owner called her. “I told him I had lost my way and asked him to inform the authorities,” she said.

She also tried messaging a friend for help, but her phone switched off before she could send it.

“After my phone died around 2:45 pm, I had no communication. I shouted for help, but there were no responses,” she said.

Sharanya eventually sat on a large rock near a narrow stream, hoping someone would find her. She had only a 500 ml water bottle, which she refilled from the stream.

“I didn’t carry food since it was considered an easy trek. I survived on about three litres of water a day,” she said.

Despite being in a forest where wild animals, including elephants, are frequently sighted, Sharanya said she was not overwhelmed by fear.

“At night, I heard sounds from different directions, which made me tense, but I managed. I didn’t even feel hungry during those days,” she added.

She was finally spotted by locals in a remote part of the forest “where nobody usually goes,” according to rescuers.

In an emotional reunion, she met her uncles, brother, and office colleagues.

Sharanya, who works at an IT firm in Kochi, said the experience has not discouraged her and that she will continue trekking.