This pretty much sums up how ill prepared he was: there was a hand operated tram a 1/4 mile from where he tried to cross the river on his way out, a tram that is shown on regional maps. He had no idea it was there, however, because he didn't bring a map.

He chose not to bring a map, among other things. Sure, on one hand he survived under harsh conditions for a significant amount of time, maybe longer than most, maybe not. But that is absolutely moot if the topic is that his lack of preparedness did him in. A map would have saved his life.

Whether or not he truly cared about that is another matter altogether.