WAYNESBORO, Pa. — A retired central Pennsylvania couple stranded in their compact car in the Utah desert for four days subsisted on crackers and soda before hiking to safety.

Ray and Sue Beard spent four harrowing days in the desert when the directions supplied by their portable navigation device led them far off the beaten path in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a 1.9-million acre stretch of rugged public land in sparsely inhabited southern Utah, on May 27.

Sue Beard and her husband, Ray, 67, became stuck and damaged their rented car on a winding, deserted mountain road.

The Beards gathered their remaining supplies on May 31 and tried to hike back to a main road.

Battling dehydration, it took the couple more than five hours to cover a little over 7½ miles before they curled up to rest under a black umbrella. They were awakened by the sound of a passing motorcycle and were eventually able to get the attention of another group of riders.