Whether you’ve been planning a hike for weeks or whether you set out on a whim – once you’ve decided to reach a certain destination, it can be really hard to turn around. There’s a lot of internal and external pressure pushing you to achieve the goal. But knowing when to turn around is one of the most important parts of hiker safety.
Over the holidays I’ve been binge-watching TV and eating everything. Have you seen Love Without Borders? WOW. It is absolutely awful, and I can’t stop watching it! Anyway … in addition to the TV and the food, stormy weather has also kept me inside more than normal. While I can appreciate a few down days, I have reached a bit of a tipping point, where lack of movement has made me feel a little lethargic and achy.
It was a glorious 45 degrees here in New Hampshire today! The warm weather coupled with the fact that we are in the final days of 2022 made it feel like a great day to put down the chocolate, turn off the TV, and get out for the last hike of the year.
And so that’s what I did! I drove to a nearby mountain to begin my trek. My energy was low but my negative inner voice was fully charged, and it started telling me to cut my losses before I even arrived at the trail. It said, “You know the gate is locked. That’s an extra 2 miles round trip. Maybe you should just forget it.” Then, once I did arrive at the gate, the parking lot was full, so I had to park on an incline on the side of a narrow road, which I never love doing. I always worry there won’t be enough space for cars to pass and I’ll end up getting side swiped, or my parking brake will fail, and I’ll come back to see my car turned over at the bottom of a cliff. I almost quit then and there, but I put the negative self-talk aside, set the brake, tightened my backpack straps and headed to the gate.
The warm weather was great, except that it transformed the foot or two of snow on the road to mashed potatoes. It seemed like every 5th step I’d posthole, and I forgot my gaters, so ice slipped into my boots and began to melt into my socks. On top of this, I was getting seriously fatigued and I hadn’t even made it to the trailhead. I was sweating, my socks were soon-to-be soaked, and I was headed to the top of a very cold, very windy, mountain – not a good combination.
At this point, I accepted that the best thing for me on this particular day was to turn around. Could I have made it to the top of the mountain and back again just fine with the right attitude and a little more gumption? It honestly doesn’t matter what might have been. When deciding to turn around, you can’t guess at the future, you need to make the best decision for you based on the elements and your mental and physical health in that moment. It doesn’t matter that the weather is gorgeous and that another hiker just passed you. It doesn’t matter what you would do if you brought your gaters or snowshoes or if you felt stronger. It doesn’t matter that you basically ran up this same mountain a month ago.
It can be hard to tell the difference between giving in to negative self-talk and making a rational decision to turnaround. I recommend setting aside your wants, whether they appear negative (cake, couch, tv) or positive (summit the mountain), and taking a step back to examine the facts of the situation.
Today’s decision was pretty simple. 1.) I was fatigued before even reaching the trailhead. 2.) Without gaters, my socks were about to be wet and I was sweating. 3.) I knew from the Mountain Forecast that the top of the mountain would be below freezing. I didn’t want hypothermia. Being quite tired, I didn’t want to accidentally hurt myself while hiking in the snow and ice. So, for me on this day, turning around was the right thing to do.
It can be disappointing to turn back, but you shouldn’t view such a decision as a failure. In fact, it proves that you are capable of assessing the situation with a clear understanding of your health and wellness. Even though it is difficult, you are making a wise choice not to place yourself or anyone else in harm’s way.
In the end, it was still a lovely day! I went home, grabbed the pup, and we went for a nice long walk. We even did some hills to get the heart rate going. Then we took a nap. It’s all about balance.
