An elderly couple traveling from Ridgecrest, Calif., to the Oregon coast, found themselves stuck in a mud pit after the GPS mapping system they were relying on sent them in the wrong direction. The couple ended up spending two nights in the wilderness before police officers came on the scene to deliver aid.

According to the wife, Dorris Garton to KCAL-TV:

“The trees started really closing in on us. We should have stopped then and called 911 for an alternate route to get out of the situation.”

Apparently, the elder couple blamed the GPS system they were using at the time for their mishap. They claimed after coming across trees that kept getting closer and closer, they thought about making a pit stop and call 911. However, instead the elder couple in their 70s chose to follow the prompts of the GPS device.

Now, while the GPS is being blamed solely for the couple’s entrapment in a mud pit, the real culprit here is the mapping data. You see, GPS satellites provide the location and not the direction. The direction side of things is up to the mapping data available, which is not always accurate so always, bare that in mind next time you’re out hunting for scraps.

It isn’t clear what GPS they were using, but… okay, I’ll not make an Apple Maps joke.

[via KCAL-TV]