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How Far Can I Push It?The difference between going too far and keeping to your schedule. |
I think anyone who spends any time in the wilderness will remember occasions when the drive for success, poor weather or sickness has clouded your own or you companions' judgement. I have constantly fought the battle in my own mind whether to push on in spite of the condition or stop short of the original objective. Usually the only underlying factor pushing me to continue was my own ego and my stubborn resistance to quitting.
The critical difference between a cold wet group who sets up camp and a group that decides to push on is the former have already made the decision to survive and the latter is heading into a potentially critical survival situation. Unfortunately it is very easy to second-guess both ourselves and other travelers from the comfort of a lodge or coffeehouse long after the situation. It is very real when your group is on the side of a mountain pass being snowed on and unable or unwilling to come to any consensus about whether to camp, turn back or carry on over the pass.
How we deal with these situations and then decide how far we can push on is often a group breaker. Even when faced with lose of income we must be willing to make the tough decisions, which are almost always to give up, turn back or to stay in camp. The difference between going too far and keeping to your schedule is nearly always the decision between life and death.
Potential survival situations are all around us. How we deal with them is extremely important. The universal survival adage of STOP; Stop, Think, Orient, and Plan works very well when you need to come to grips with whether to move on, to turn back or to camp. Stop and think about the situation, make a realistic plan and then carry it out. Always remember it is safer to stop than carry-on nearly all the time and if you do carry on plan a safe escape route in case it turns out to be a poor decision.
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