Tramper found close to death in Far North had survived bear charge in US

RECOVERING: Nancy Jane Andujar is used to toughing it out in the wilds of America (pictured) but struck trouble just days into her New Zealand adventure in the Far North.PHOTO/YOUTUBE

An American woman found unconscious off a Far North trail is an experienced tramper and is no stranger to facing adversity in the outdoors.

Nancy Jane Andujar, 57, of California, remains in Whangarei Hospital's intensive care unit in a stable condition after she was found close to death, lying in an exposed area near Te Werahi Loop Track, just south of Cape Maria van Diemen, about 9am on Sunday.

She was suffering from hypothermia and rescuers had to climb into a sleeping bag with her to help her body temperature to rise.

Police have spoken to Ms Andujar, who told them she intended to walk the 3000km-long Te Araroa trail over the next six months. She was going to travel back to the States for Christmas and then return to complete the New Zealand hike.

However, Ms Andujar was only a few days into her epic new Zealand adventure when she became dehydrated and disoriented and became separated from her backpack.

It was not the first time she had struck trouble while tramping.

A YouTube clip, recorded when she was tramping the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada in 1978, shows her caught in a snow storm that dropped 3.6m of snow. She survived but almost met her match while in Yellowstone National Park, where she was charged by a grizzly bear. She had to climb a tree and wait for the bear to go.

While climbing down, she fell, injuring her knees.

Last year, on her 56th birthday, she completed the Appalachian Trail, a trek that took her six months and passed through 14 American states. She walked alone and documented the 3516km trek on video, and posted parts of her journey on YouTube.

"You have to really want to get through the hardships of the trail," she said at the completion of the trek.

"Sometimes you hit boulder fields ... and you think you're not going to get over but you do."

It was the third and final hike to complete the triple crown.

Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said, while in hospital, Ms Andujar had managed to contacted her husband but he was not travelling to New Zealand.

Northland police Search and Rescue co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe said an extensive land, sea and air search had been launched to find the woman.

"She was in a really bad way ... it was lucky we found her when we did. It's highly unlikely she would have survived another night."