Stefanie Puls was thinking a lot about her family and friends and how much she cared about them as she wandered for hours through the night lost north of Pitt Lake last week.

The 25-year-old Maple Ridge woman spent a "horrible" night trying to find her way back to her group before being found by a helicopter pilot.

At around 11: 30 a.m., about 15 hours after getting lost, pilot Dean Russell spotted her standing on a stump waving her purple hoodie.

She said she was so happy and relieved to see a human. The pilot - "my hero and my angel" - then asked her if she needed something, to which she replied, "The only thing I need is a hug."

While up at the hot springs north of Pitt Lake on Thursday, Puls went about 50 feet into the bush to relieve herself and ended up falling, hitting her head, and getting disoriented.

As darkness set in, she tried to find her way back but accidentally went north instead of south, wearing just a bathing suit and a hoodie.

Numb from the cold and shaking, she wandered for hours looking for an open area where she'd be spotted more easily.

Because it was dark, she kept falling and tripping, hurting herself along the way.

After about five hours, she stopped in an open, rocky area, and dug a hole under a log to lie down in. As she lay under the log through the darkest part of the night, she tried not to breathe or shake as the animals came close to her.

Finally, when the stars started to disappear and the first light came out, she tried building a fire with two sticks and moss - in an attempt to attract attention with the smoke - but in vain.

Both Ridge Meadows and Coquitlam RCMP and Ridge Meadows Search & Rescue had spent the night looking for her.

One helicopter flew past her without seeing her before Russell spotted her.

Puls said she didn't do anything wrong that night, except perhaps she should have stayed put after realizing she was lost.

She just had bad luck - but with an angel on her shoulder.

"It wasn't me being reckless," Puls said. "It was a bad series of events."

The thoughts going through her mind through the night weren't necessarily about herself, Puls said. She was worried about what her family and friends were thinking and how scared and upset they would be.

mrantanen@mrtimes.com