Flexibility

When planning a backcountry adventure, flexibility is key (and no, we don’t mean the ability to touch your toes)

For those of you familiar with this blog, you know that I like to plan my outings down to the smallest detail. I obsess over each item that goes into my pack, as well as every detail of my itinerary from where I will park to when and where I will camp each night. And yet, no matter how well one prepares, things can still go wrong, and this is why you need to be flexible. When the unexpected strikes, you need to be able to assess the situation correctly, and then change your plans accordingly.

A recent example of this would be my April snowshoe trip to Crater Lake National Park.

My original plan was to walk all the way around the lake. I knew from reading the park literature that over half the people that attempt this loop in winter do not complete it, but thought to myself: ‘that won’t be me.’ Unfortunately, by the end of my first day on the trail, I was already beginning to question my meticulously laid plans. Having chosen the wrong boots for this trip (for more info on this disaster, see my post: The 10 Biggest Mistakes I Have Made While Backpacking), both my socks and boots were soaking wet–not a good situation when the nighttime temps were still falling below freezing. 

By the time I reached my first night’s campsite, I knew I would have to change my plans. First and foremost, I needed to get my footwear dry, and then I needed to make a plan to keep them dry. This is what I mean by flexibility–the  ability to adapt to unexpected conditions on the fly.

I spent the next day using my camp stove (not a great idea) and the sun to dry my footwear, and also kept an eye on the snow conditions which had contributed to this problem. I surmised that if I could get my footwear dry, I could continue my hike–but only if I stopped each day before the sun turned the hard-packed snow to slush.

I would like to be able to tell you that, having come to this well-reasoned conclusion that I was then able to complete the rest of my hike as planned. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. 

The very next morning, as I attempted to round the ridge below The Watchman, I encountered a snow field that I was not sure I should cross. The slope was well past 45 degrees and there were even a few signs that it had slid previously (although I’m pretty sure those slides had not been recent). 

Full disclosure: I have lots of backcountry experience, but little in the dead of winter. Leading up to this trip I had watched several YouTube videos on how to judge snow conditions and avoid getting caught in an avalanche, but rather than giving me the confidence to proceed, I believe these videos just made me more afraid of what could happen. I

 knew that given the current temperatures and prevailing conditions, the hill I encountered was unlikely to slide. But what if I was wrong? I was hiking alone, there were few people in the park that day, and I was not carrying an avalanche transponder. If I were to get caught in an avalanche, it is very likely that I would not have been able to survive it.

Obviously I had a decision to make: chance it and cross the snowfield, or admit defeat and turn back.

So again we come to this idea of flexibility. Without the ability to change plans on the fly I would have likely crossed that snowfield. Maybe I would have been okay, and maybe not. 

As you have probably guessed already, I chose to turn back. I thought of my wife, my children, my grandchildren. I thought of the pain it would cause them if I did not come back and knew that I could not take this risk. I was disappointed, certainly, and maybe even a little embarrassed, but I believed it then, and I still feel that this was the best decision I could have made. 

Flexibility in the face of the unexpected–this trait is absolutely essential if you intend to spend any amount of time in the wilderness. If you are unable to change your plans on the fly, you may put yourself and even others  in danger. Maybe the bridge that you expected to cross was washed out by last winter’s storms, and now you have to either ford the river or turn back. Is the water too high? Is it safe to ford? Maybe AllTrails told you that high pass was clear of snow, but then you get there to find that there are now a fresh two feet covering the trail. Do you go on, or turn back? 

I can give you countless other examples from my own experience where I have had to be adaptable. For instance, I ran out of cooking fuel on a trip last year and had to hydrate my meals with cold water (doable, but not very tasty). Another, more recent example: I planned to hike the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood this upcoming week, but when I checked trail conditions I realized that most of the trail is still covered under seven feet of snow. Flexibility, and the willingness to adapt turned what could have been a miserable failure of a hike into what I hope will be an epic adventure. Instead of the Timberline trail, I now plan to hike the Rae Lakes Loop in King’s Canyon National Park (check upcoming posts for the results). 

With only a week to change my plans and get ready, I am certain that there will be things I forgot or failed to consider. But that’s okay, because I know I can be flexible with my plans. Whatever disasters or unexpected events life throws at me, I will be ready. I hope you will be too.

Happy hiking, and be flexible!