It's absurdly easy to get turned around at night in woods you don't know. I was a Boy Scout when I was a kid, and there were certain areas/forests/camps I could probably still navigate on a cloudy night without a light just off of memory, if the trails, paths and roads are basically all there 20+ years later from how much time I spent there. I remember getting turned around once in a new camp for like 15-20 minutes trying to get back to my tent, and I wasn't more than a couple dozen yards from it.

You should never go into the woods without your ten essentials. Never. Even if you plan on just a short walk.

Down is almost always out but the Cascades can get very tricky.

you should also carry a map with you, a compass is useful but more useful with a map.

Search and Rescue are awesome. Speaking as someone whose Capitol Hill Cub Scout troop got lost wherever we went, it is enduringly wonderful that we full-grown urban smartypantses can get a cute trail guide from Elliott Bay, rent gear at REI, go where we reeeeally don't know what we're doing, and still, things usually don't go wrong.

And that Search and Rescue volunteers and rural sheriff departments are there for when they do. Glad you're both home safe.

2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Essenti…
No hat?

You're absolutely right about getting an early start. I like to be back by noon, since that's when you can expect the weather to start getting worse. Some people have no appreciation for how dangerous the mountains can be, though. To them it's just "scenery."

What a humbling experience. Glad everyone is all right.

Eli, this is a really nice, non-preachy cautionary tale for the outdoor dabblers. The brain is a very perverse and balky sort of VCR, and almost worthless at being able to formulate the way back from landmarks viewed in the forward direction unless you have a very good internalized map built over time from many visits to the same area in different seasons.

I know my own rural home turf very well, but I've always liked to explore new cities on foot with only the most general cloudy notions of where things are. It's amazing how fast you can get disoriented even with a rectilinear street grid and pausing to look backward every block or so to try remembering what the reverse journey should look like--especially if the sun's position isn't apparent.

It also continually amazes me that gym bunnies who will lift tons of weight pointlessly for hours don't want to carry a couple of extra pounds of protective gear or food when venturing outdoors.

Also, thanks for the beautiful image.

Heading down valley seems simple enough, but it's easy to get cliffed out. Unless you find a trail out you are stuck having to suss out every cliff band, heading down to the valley bottom to see if you can pass under it, and if you can't heading back up to find a way around it. But you want to stay connected to the valley bottom so that you don't end up above a cliff band you can't get down from without backtracking.

yeah that is a pretty pretty pic.

The Cascades are the real deal, especially in the winter. They are as tricky and dangerous as any mountain range in the world. There are all kinds of ways to die back there.

You really shouldn't be in the mountains without the 10 essentials and some rudimentary knowledge of back country survival.

I used to ski in that valley all the time, and I couldn't figure out how that group got lost. At the very least, you can follow your own tracks back out if you can see them. But a late start probably put paid to that tactic. Lucky bunch.

@8 - If you get turned around in a city, look for a satellite dish. They always point more or less south, since all geosynchronous satellites are positioned above the equator.

Ha--thanks, @14! Part of my brain had noticed that, but never forwarded the info for processing!