An attack by an armed man at a campsite would leave a fellow hiker dead and Kirby Morrill gravely injured and fighting for her life, forced to hike 10 kilometres through the darkness to find help.

Matthew "Odie" Norman said he's in awe of the courage she showed after one man was killed and she was left for dead.

The names of the victims have not been released, but Wythe County Sheriff Keith Dunagan has said the injured woman is from Nova Scotia.