Yoga Instructor Amanda Eller Lost For 17 Days In Forests Of Maui After Three-Mile Hike Turns Into Hellish Nightmare

Hiking is often seen as a leisurely activity, a way to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and find some mental clarity.

However, what was intended to be a short escape into nature turned into a harrowing survival story for Amanda Eller.

Credit: Facebook

In May 2019, Amanda embarked on her hike in the Makawao Forest Reserve, situated on the northern side of Maui, without a cell phone, food, or water, under the impression that she would only be gone for a short while. 

However, the day took a drastic turn when she veered off the trail and found herself unable to navigate her way back to the starting point.

Amanda, a physical therapist and yoga instructor, suddenly found herself lost in a reserve sprawling over 2,000 acres, a sizeable area that’s easy to get lost in.

Credit: Facebook / Find Amanda

The reserve, surrounded by even more acres of dense forest filled with steep ravines and lava rocks, posed numerous hazards to Amanda as she tried to find her way back.

The situation worsened when Amanda decided to step off the path for a brief rest.

Attempting to return, she realized she was deeply lost. 

"I wanted to go back the way I'd come, but my gut was leading me another way — and I have a very strong gut instinct," she recounted to the New York Times.

She felt guided by an inner voice, urging her to continue despite obstacles that seemed to challenge her whenever she doubted her intuition.

Amanda went missing for 17 days. Credit: Facebook / Find Amanda

"I heard this voice that said, 'If you want to live, keep going'," Amanda shared. 

Her journey became a testament to following one’s instinct, even in the face of adversity.

"And as soon as I would doubt my intuition and try to go another way than where it was telling me, something would stop me, a branch would fall on me, I'd stub my toe, or I'd trip. So I was like, 'O.K., there is only one way to go'." 

Throughout the 17 days she was missing, Amanda faced severe challenges. 

She endured extreme sunburn, fractured her leg, and tore the meniscus in her knee after a fall from a steep cliff. 

Thankfully, Amanda survived the terrible ordeal. Credit: CNN

These injuries made her survival increasingly uncertain. 

"I was getting so skinny that I was really starting to doubt if I could survive," she revealed.

On the 17th day, while Amanda was by a stream, searching for food and a place to sleep that wasn't in the mud, she spotted a helicopter.

This moment marked the end of her nightmarish ordeal.

She was rescued, albeit malnourished and covered in dirt, but, crucially, she was alive.

Amanda’s story of survival, resilience, and the power of intuition serves as a reminder of the unpredictability of nature and the human spirit's capacity to endure against the odds.