(CNN) A two-hour hike on the Pacific Crest Trail between two strangers led to the rescue of one of them just days after.

Katharina Gröne on Wednesday described how she was alone, surrounded by snow and sleet, and trapped 5,000 feet up on a mountain when a helicopter swooped down to rescue her.

"I was not sure I would make it out at all," Gröne said in a press conference. "I already, via WhatsApp, informed my parents. I apologized for dying on the PCT, for risking too much, for being too stupid."

Katharina Gröne's footprints at 5500 feet elevation.

Gröne, of Germany, started her journey on the PCT at the Mexican Border in May, and she was committed to make it to Canada.

She met Nancy Abell at Lake Susan Jane in Washington on October 22, and Abell offered her a ride to Stevens Pass, a popular mountain resort. The two hiked around the area for about two hours, before Gröne decided to head north.

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