In one of the flashbacks to Liv's youth, there was essentially a mini-survival that prepared her for being lost alone in the forest. Her mother was supposed to pick her up from a girl scouts event, but of course didn't, so after a long wait she had to try to walk home, navigate the jungle that is New York without any preparation or help. After a long walk, she reaches home and falls into the arms of her father. It's this memory that drives her as an adult in the forests of Canada and tells her she can do it.

She also finds that what she learned in the girl scouts is not as easily applicable in reality as she thought at the time. E.g. how are you going to magnetise a compass needle, did you bring your big magnet?