THERE’S nothing quite like the euphoria one feels when you bag a peak and it rewards you with a never-ending ombre hued mountain range or near-horizonless ocean or plains. The torturous ascent and logistical nightmares are fast forgotten. You are living the dream. The hiking life is great fun. Until you experience a bad day.
Two weeks into my 4,300km Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hike, a once-in-a-hundred-year weather event hit my walking partner and me, rendering our May springtime hike a full-blown exercise in winter snow survival. Armed with inadequate 3-season gear and ultralight clothing chosen for its warmth-to-weight ratio over durability in extreme conditions, I was seriously questioning the merits of this long-distance hike. With inoperable frozen hands, I could
