I think this has been a pretty interesting discussion. Lori's offered a scenario of a difficult situation that even a very skilled survivalist would be seriously challenged with. I think I mentioned ice storms.

Both of these situations could be easily avoided with good planning. While mine is not very likely for a hiker to encounter, Lori's is almost commonplace out West.

But I agree that the conversation would be more helpful if took a turn towards focusing on the practical and technique as well as real life experiences. I think Lori's tried to do that with her scenario. I'll try too...

The way I see it is, there are probably two major categories you can use for backpackers; Those who have taken the time to learn how to plan and hone skills, and those who haven't. Here, the vast majority of backpackers are in the former, but not out West. Lori's confirmed what I suspected, there are many more once a year types that head out there, and many more tourist types that head out for the first time.

Planning by the book, so to speak, is all good until your plans tank out on you. If you have skills you might be able to adapt, but skills with no plan won't always bail you out, Lori's scenario demonstrates that pretty well.

Honestly, I don't have a good plan for ice storms, or even the more common vicious thunderstorms we get here where straight-line winds and downburst can hit 60-70 mph and tear up a mature forest. My only plan is to avoid being out there when that happens. If that fails, I suppose I'd try to find some big rocks or ledges to hunker down in, but thunderstorms moving at 40+mph don't give you a lot of time to do even that. Your only chance in an ice storm is to get out, and the longer you dawdle at that the worse it will be for you.

Part of my plan is to keep a very close eye on the weather forecast when I'm out there, and that has saved my butt more times than I can count. Two years ago a buddy and I got out about 10-12 hours before a nasty ice storm hit where we were backpacking in the Ozark NF. We hiked back to my car and drove to a high point to get a phone signal so I could check the forecast while he called his wife. Had we not done that, and stayed where we were, even if we could have made it to our car the next day we would have been stuck for a week or more, and we were not well prepared for that.

This is why I carry my cell phone, how I use it, and why I consider it an essential piece of gear. It's not perfect, but when it works it is an amazing tool. The "Plan" should always include not using your survival skills out of need.

On a even more practical level, learning how to fall is a survival skill that is worth considering and honing. I slip and fall every time I go bushwhacking, it's just a part of traversing the forests here. Jim's brought that up a few times and talked about ice ax techniques, but even the more common slip and stumble type falls can be dangerous and there are techniques to lesson that.

When I was young we hung out with a friend who was a stuntman. He taught my brothers and I how to fall, and while that may sound silly, it's not. It's a skill you can learn. The object is to avoid breaking bones and serious injury with some level of control, and that doesn't mean it won't hurt. For example, you don't want to land on the palm of your hand with your arm extended straight, and it's better to slide with and into a fall than tumble, and it's better to tuck your head in and roll while landing on your back shoulder than on your head. It takes a bit of practice to get to the point where it's intuitive, but it's pretty much like riding a bike after you've got it down. Football players are really good at falling down, and you can see those techniques in practice by watching them