I had a very important hiking experience this past weekend, where I learned that physical conditioning isn't the only important thing. Trail conditions, nutrition, etc. are all equally if not more important. At one point I found myself alone, traversing an ice field laterally across a slope where if something were to go wrong, if would go very wrong, very fast. Literally had knock knees for about 20 seconds before getting myself under control again as we passed through an area where somebody had died a few weeks earlier. To boot, I had never used an ice ax before and spent too much time thinking about how much I didn't want to have to self-arrest...The body was picked up the day after we completed the hike. It was mentally and emotionally taxing, but a great preparation for future hikes of that magnitude of difficulty and up. Edit: Oh also I lost 3 lbs that day despite packing what I thought was a lot of food, and bringing a water filter to attempt to stay hydrated. It was 90 degrees out the entire day, and as you can see there was no shade.
I'm glad you learned this lesson without consequence. It's one we all make and (hopefully) never make again. I have a couple rules in regards to mountains and just general climbing/hiking/camping/whatever. -Respect the Mountain- As cheesy as this sounds, it's absolutely necessary. Nothing man can do will beat the mountain. Never think your experience outweighs that giant storm headed your way. -On that note-know your limits. Never be afraid to give up. While that is awful life advice, I'd say this is good staying alive advice. Also, watch your friends, and more importantly, yourself. It's easy to see changes in friends, but exceedingly difficult to notice when you're struggling. -Be prepared for almost anything. Carry too much water. Carry too much food. Carry a little bit more water. Hydrate and eat well the day prior. Pack one jacket warmer then you'll think you need. Never leave without matches, a compass, a map, chapstick, and sunglasses. Triple check everything. I'd highly suggest doing this for every damn hike you go on. Build the habits early. As you get into more technical stuff-PRACTICE FIRST. If your'e not comfortable with arrests run through them a couple times before you start. Run through every position(front, back, feetfirst, headfirst) and then throw a pack on and do it again. You should never be in a position where you may need to arrest if you aren't already comfortable with it. Once you master one skill add another-build anchors with an ax, practice roped pairs or whatever else you want to do. Anyways, thanks for the post! Sounds like you had a great time, I'm quite jealous.. Enjoy the future hikes.
Thanks for the comment, it sounds like you know your stuff and hopefully other hikers/aspiring climbers get a chance to read it! Are you a Mountaineer? Had everything which you listed packed except for enough food, apparently. Started with 3L of water and a filter, and ended up drinking probably 6L and a beer (because of course you bury a can each for when you get back down). I'm actually taking a map and compass navigation basics course in two weekends! Very excited to learn a new skill in that, it seems incredibly useful to have at least a base level of knowledge.
Yeah, after this experience I bought some more snow gear to do a good deal more winter hiking so this doesn't happen again.