~Basil

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Chicago-area native Madeline Connelly spent seven days and six nights lost in the beautiful but brutal wilderness of northwest Montana.

Planning only a short hike on a sunny afternoon while in town visiting family, the 23-year-old from River Forest set off along the trail May 4 without food or water, with only her dog Mogi at her side. A couple of hours later, after stopping to swim, she got turned around and hiked deeper into the wilderness in search of a way out.

Her disappearance set off a frantic search by land and air, garnering national media attention, as hundreds prayed for her safe return more than 1,500 miles away in the west suburban church where she and her three younger sisters went to elementary school and made their religious sacraments.

While many might panic or lose hope, Connelly in a Tribune interview said she often felt at peace.

The nature enthusiast wasn't a novice.

She has explored the Redwood forests along the Northern California coast, camped in Illinois' Starved Rock State Park and weathered the freezing cold in North Dakota to protest an oil pipeline project. Connelly also aced a 21-day Arizona backpacking trip in college that included three days of solo exploration.

But none of her adventures come close to all she encountered in the Great Bear Wilderness, a heavily wooded, mountainous forest near Glacier National Park with steep, rugged terrain, a raging river with several tributaries running through it, and bears and mountain lions among the wildlife.

As the Flathead County sheriff told reporters early in the search, Connelly was lost in "the middle of nowhere" with freezing temperatures at night. She was wearing just a hooded sweatshirt, overalls and boots.