The following episode contains graphic content that might not be suitable for all listeners.

Some emergencies are apparent in an instant.

A bone is broken, a person is unconscious, a storm is raging overhead.

In those situations, we know that we need to find help and fast.

But when dangerous events unravel slowly, that urgency might be lacking.

You're sure just 10 minutes ago you were on the trail, so it can't be that far and you

keep walking.

Your hiking partner is acting strange, but it might be the altitude or exhaustion.

These events can seem like obvious foreshadowing in retrospect.

But when you're in the moment, they're a lot trickier in real time.

The danger, of course, is that what started out as an innocuous assumption that you can

still get things back on track can cascade until you find yourself in a situation that

feels completely out of your control.

Today's story is about one of those cascades.

In this tale, our guest made a handful of mistakes.

Things that might seem like obvious missteps to listeners at home.

But that just illustrates just how difficult it is to make sound decisions when you're

cold, hungry, and fearful for your life.

It's one of the weirdest things about backcountry survival.

Precisely when you need sound judgment the most, the conditions and your brain conspire

to cloud that judgment.

It might be easy to make the right call from the comfort of your home, but survival decisions

...