What conditions might have contributed to a Lamanite army becoming "lost in the wilderness for many days" (Mosiah 23:25)? According to John Sorenson, and assuming a Mesoamerican setting, once in the Guatemalan interior, experienced travelers in times past stuck to a couple of established routes where reliable watering points were to be found. Journeys in those uplands were especially tricky because the streams cut precipitous chasms. McBryde vividly describes the problem: "The immensely deep canyons are often so sharp that the unwary traveler is likely to come upon them most unexpectedly. The white buildings of a village, gleaming in the bright sunlight beyond the pines, may appear to be only a mile or two away, seemingly just ahead. Yet, another hundred yards will reveal that the nearer trees stand upon the brink of a narrow abyss." Consequently, movements in highland Guatemala (the general land of Nephi) must be limited to a few sure routes or the traveler gets in trouble. Throughout the area trails tend to stay at the less eroded, high, rolling elevations; the main route still goes near the continental divide. [John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 167]