Another excellent post, thank you for sharing.

This point really stood out for me.



It always amazes me how many people don't stop where they are and wait for help but keep moving even in the worst of conditions.

5 or 6 months back a bushwalking friend of mine got himself lost in the Royal National Park (RNP) just south of Sydney after a minor navigational error. Being winter time the sun goes down early (of course) and he decided around 3pm that he was lost and would have to spend the night. He found a couple of nice boulders to sit between up the hill out of the cold valley, rationed his food (as he had taken extra food with him) and water, put on every bit of clothing he had, called his family to let them know he was lost and waited it out. Unfortunately his phone battery was low and he turned it off so emergency services couldn't reach him so at the family's suggestion the police rang me at 10:30pm to see if I could shed some light on where he may be.
As soon as he heard large jets flying overhead he knew it was around 6am (Sydney airport curfew finishes at 6am) so he got himself organised. He walked straight down the hill found the track right in front of him and was back at his car before 8am only to be met by 2 police cars, 2 ambulances and 2 national parks 4wds.
The point I wanted to make from this is he realised he was in trouble and took action. As a result he was able to get out without any ill effects.

I agree with you "BE AHEAD OF THE CURVE." I have also applied this principle to walks I have led for my bushwalking club and pulled out of situations early that had the potential to turn bad quickly.

Cheers,
Michael.