I don’t do much hiking, but I bought a Garmin inReach Mini for our yearly vacations in a somewhat remote area of Canada. I keep it in a drybag, along with a first aid kit, when we’re fishing out on the boat. The lake has very few people on it, and we would be SOL if we ran out of gas or had engine problems, hence the reason for the Garmin. Thankfully I haven’t had to use it yet. But it’s very reassuring knowing it’s there in case we have any problems, including medical emergencies.
That’s one of my favorite YT channels.
As has already been mentioned, one of the biggest problems is not knowing when (or wanting) to turn back or get help. It’s natural for your pride & ego to tell you, “Keep going, don’t give up! Be strong. You can do it.” This will result in your death in some situations. A healthy dose of humility will save your life.
A slightly less harrowing rescue.
"On Thursday evening, the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue crew were out training when they received reports of someone yelling for help near the Boulderfields, a climbing spot near the Kettle Valley Railway. Two hikers had contacted 911 after hearing what sounded like “repeated cries.” The crew immediately switched from training to rescue mode, activating its drone team along with two RCMP officers.
The first members of the crew who arrived at the Boulderfields could hear “faint yelling – but couldn’t make out what was being said,” according to a post online by the search team. The crew had split into two teams and was prepping to search the woods and the forest roads when team members found the source of the yelling: A man camping alone who had been belting out Nickelback’s greatest hits.
The camper was “singing his heart out to the trees, blissfully unaware that the acoustics of the Boulderfields had turned his tent-side concert into an accidental distress signal,” according to the team."
Singing Nickelback is certainly an indication of moral distress.
Stranger
I hike in very different circumstances - no snow or ice, plenty of clean water. Of the ten listed, I probably only rate 6 of them essential.
- First aid kit (duct/duck tape plus soft cotton is always part of this, plus painkillers, a bent/curved needle/thread, lots of painkillers.
- Fire making equipment (plus stubs of candles to use to ‘disinfect’ the bent needle in case the stiches needed are in human flesh)
- Duct/duck tape, cable ties, thin rope (para-cord… strong but really light)
- Food, including “waterproof” food like fruit or sealed energy bars.
- Dry bag. I usually carry two, a small one inside the bigger. I do a fair amount of what here in South Africa is called “kloofing”, which is mixed hiking/swimming/jumping down a mountainous river. After 10 hours of that.. you want your bag to be dry inside.
- Whisky. Lagavulin is my goto, it is a liitle expensive for me, but… so worthwhile.
The routes usually mean you can’t back out once you’ve commited (10 x 12 metre jumps on waterfalls on one route!) - so you need to be prepared.
(There is a potential exit on day 4, but it is a really tough climb out, I’d only do it in the case of a flash flood or something equally serious.)
Well I’m heading back to the scene of the crime. Some hiker friends are heading to Mount Jutland next week and asked if I’d like to join them. Our incident wasn’t on Jutland but a couple of peeks over but we’ll start from the same spot at Circlet Lake.
Don’t be afraid to acknowledge trauma should it arise.
Glad you made it. What a tale! I can sympathize. I used to live in Taos NM basically in the heart of Carson NF. I used to hike and camp there a lot. My scariest adventure was when a day long hike turned into a white-out storm. My dog and I huddled under a cedar with visibility zero for 6 hrs .
I can imagine your fear. Again, glad you are OK.
I only have 1% battery on my phone. I am calling for help after I finish posting this.
[Last post ever from FloatyGimpy]
A doper to the very end 
Little update. I just got back from a three day trip into the same area where we summited Mount Jutland. On the last day, on the way out, we saw a man hiking towards us wearing a SAR shirt. He was one of my rescuers. He was new to sars and was literally on his way to where our rescue happened because he wanted to see where they’d taken us down the side of the mountain.
I wanted to throw my arms around him but instead I just shook his hand and we had a little chat about it. When it all happened I didn’t say anything negative about my friend because we both made mistakes and there’s no sense placing blame. But I told him what had happened before, with my friend rolling into a ball and saying he didn’t want to lose his fingers and so on. He asked me what I learned from the experience and we talked about good communication with your hiking partner.
It was so good to see him and talk about it. It felt like a bit of closure.
What a crazy coincidence that he was on his way to the rescue spot and there I am, the rescuee hiking towards him.
I think this must have felt great for him too. Not only was he involved in a successful rescue, but he gets to see you back at it, break down lessons learned with you and overall get closure on it too. I bet he went back to his team and told them all about how great it was to see you.
I’m not a hiker or climber and this story was very scary to read. I’m glad you both got out safely and you’re feeling good about continuing your hobby!
I was thinking the same.