The red line at my neck was a whistle on a cord that I'd tucked under my shirt's neckline. It was my only defense against any possible predator, or to try and capture someone's attention. Pretty stupid of me when I look back at just how daring I was that day to go on such a long hike, with no map on me, no water, and just my iPad, whistle and jacket. However, we'd heard this hike wasn't half the length it ended up being so when I set out on it, I was expecting a well-marked path and it to only take about 1.5 hours.