I discovered that feature myself last month. I was at one of my daughter’s dance exhibitions, and I could get no cell service in there, and my iPhone suggested that I try connecting to satellite. Of course, when I turned that on, it said I needed be in an uncovered area open to the sky, so it wasn’t useful to me. But I realized that if I was out in a remote area this could be a life-saver.
It’s okay, @FloatyGimpy !
Once I ran out of water in Death Valley. We did not have any phones or GPS or radios or anything like that. Luckily, my navigational skills were not so bad we were not able to make it to a road and hitchhike.
Quite a story and glad it came out well. My wife used to backpack in the Sierras with her dog when she was a young woman. After seeing how easily distracted she can be and how often she has fallen since we’ve known each other, I’m amazed she survived it. One serious climb she made was up the old Chilkoot Trail from Skagway, AK to the top of the pass. It almost did her in and if not for the kindness of strangers it may well have ended badly. The 33 mile trail isn’t bad, but that first day is steady climbing.
Said the skeleton in the desert.
Hiking is a huge part of my life so I decided I need to get back on the horse and went for a walk in a busy, provincial park. New trauma response unlocked! The sound of a helicopter flying overhead.
It will get better - really it will.
Be kind to yourself as it happens
Try to keep in mind that guilt is also a common response to trauma. It often shows up regardless of whether you did anything wrong.
WOW. So glad you are okay @FloatyGimpy !
Oh I thought of something on my walk. If I’m hiking and I need to use my extra layers because of weather, I no longer have extra layers in my pack. If I need to put them on, it’s time to turn around.
I wouldn’t be too rigid about rules but… that’s actually not a bad rule of thumb.
At minimum, after putting on your last layer, the first time thereafter you have the thought “Gee, I wish there was one more layer in my pack”, that is the time to turn around for sure.
You just now have conclusive proof that you are underequipped for the scenario you are really in. No more “might be” about it. And of course even turning around is no guarantee the scenario won’t get worse before it gets better. But at least your own activities won’t be making it worse-worse.
Well, not really. But it’s time to make an assessment, sure.
(oh, LSLGuy said it better)
Only if you didn’t intend to use these layers. But you should always have extra socks and (depending on conditions) an extra base layer to swap out if you get really soaked. I’ve been on alpine ascent and snowshoeing ventures where I put on all layers (usually while resting; you often strip down to base+shell when moving because the exertion of going uphill in snow keeps you warm and makes you sweat like crazy) but that was to plan. I also carry a shemagh or something similar as an all purpose wrap/towel/bandage and season-appropriate headwear even if I don’t plan to use it because you can lose a lot of heat through the head and neck.
You should definitely turn around if the weather is changing and is beyond your experience, or if you are uncertain about your ability to shelter in those conditions if you twist an ankle or worse. More than just carrying layers, if you are hiking far enough in the backcountry that you aren’t passing other hikers every half hour or so, you should be prepared to shelter overnight or at least long enough for your companion to go for help if something happens that renders you unable to keep walking.
Stranger
Carry the ten essentials and turn around when it’s prudent to do so.
This one isn’t an either/or.
Socks also make pretty good improvised mittens. If it gets cold and someone doesn’t have gloves, socks work pretty well.
They also make pretty good emergency sanitary napkins, and you can cut the toe off and make a sleeve to hold a bandage on an arm or ankle. I’ve also used one as a hot pad, and probably other things I can’t remember. Take two pair.
as per the RHCP, socks are quite polyfunctional …
and +1 vote for not beating yourself up too hard: Mistakes were made, but you made fewer mistakes than it took to kill/seriously harm anybody. … leave it at that!
WOOL socks….not cotton. 
QFT. I went cross-country skiing once, and having dry socks to change into at the end was sheer bliss.
This. I’m glad someone posted a link to the Ten Essentials. (This is AMC’s version.) I was going to do this myself if I didn’t see it in the thread.
I’ve done a fair amount of hiking and backpacking, including in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It’s astounding how quickly weather can change in the mountains.
Mountain-Forecast.com is indeed a great resource. But it important to plan for the weather that might be encountered not just for the expected duration of the hike, but the rest of the day and overnight. It’s always possible to get lost, hit bad weather, fall behind schedule, or to get injured (even merely spraining an ankle) that might require spending the night on the mountain or in the woods unexpectedly. (Although carrying the Ten Essentials makes this far less likely to happen.)
For summer hiking, I often start off with zip-off shorts and a quick-dry short sleeve shirt. But no matter how pleasant the weather is at the base of the mountain, my minimum clothing loadout in my pack is pant legs for the shorts, fleece pullover, rain jacket, rain pants, knit cap, gloves, and extra socks. Even in the middle of summer.
For example, the highest temperature ever recorded at the summit of Mount Washington is 72 degF. It’s usually a lot colder (and windy): the high temp later this week is only 46 degF.
Good job on the part of the OP to realize they needed help when they did, and to take a “lessons learned” approach to minimizing the chance of this ever happening again.
Hiking in the mountains is so rewarding, mentally and physically, that I encourage everyone to try it. But it’s vitally important to do it safely.