This Savvy 85-Year-Old Woman Survived Nearly a Week Stranded in Colorado Wilderness

Ruby Stein, 85, survived alone in her car for five days in the Colorado wilderness.

The badass great grandma had taken a wrong turn while driving home from her granddaughter’s place, and ended up deep in the Rocky Mountains. She found herself stuck on a small, muddy road instead of on her way back to Akron.

At first Ruby flashed her car lights and honked the horns in hopes of being rescued, but just that just left her with a dead car battery… as well as a cell phone with no signal.

But instead of panicking, which I’m pretty sure I would’ve done, my new hero got resourceful af, bunkering down to seal up the car from the cold. She pulled out clothes her granddaughter had given her for donation to create her makeshift shelter, also pinning some pieces together with safety pins to make a blanket.

“I kept myself very calm, which surprised me. Of course, if you raise five kids, you know…” she told Denver7 News. Ruby was shockingly zen about the whole situation, sharing, “Whatever will be, will be. It’s nothing I can do about it.”

She used an empty tin of cat food to melt snow on the top of the car for water, and made a blanket from safety pins and spare clothes. Luckily – Ruby was not completely alone, and cuddling with her cat Nikki kept her warm as well.

Ruby had a few snacks for the ride – butterscotch-flavored rice crispy treats and sweet rolls – which she cleverly rationed to two bites a day so that she wouldn’t have to resort to eating her cat’s food.

And after five impressive days of survival, Ruby finally caught a break. Two hikers discovered her Nissan Sentra lodged in the snow and were able to give her a ride back to safety.

But even now Ruby downplays her bravery and resourcefulness, telling the Denver Post, “I’ve just always been a doer. I’m an old farm girl from the day I was born.” Well, thank God for that.