Well, yeah it probably was an avoidable event, but hindsight is always 20/20.  He apparently didn't know where he was driving initially or was determined to get there without asking directions and ran out of gas.  Not good in early winter in Oregon mountains.

The most common pattern in people "wandering lost" in the woods, is to go in a circle if they do not have an accurate map and compass to guide themselves.  Also...he was hypothermic which no doubt caused a confusional state, worsening his dilemna. 

I wouldn't consider him a hero either, but any way you analyze his misfortune, it's a terrible tragedy, and could happen to anyone.  We can't second guess his well-intentioned hike to try to get help for his family, even though it may have been clouded by hypothermic induced confusion even at the outset.  Coupled with lack of nourishment, he was really a "sitting duck" for the forces of nature.

P.S. It's worse than I thought. They were 15 miles off a road they should not have been on in the first place.  There were warning signs not to travel that road, and to make things worse he somehow got off the original bad road and went down a logging road.   He made a mistake, sure...but somehow,the word hero just doesn't resonate with me.

http://www.wacotrib.com/hp/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Missing_Family.html