Adapt!

Being adaptable is mandatory when dealing with Mother Nature. You must be able to adapt to all situations that can be thrown your way. This does not mean that you should not be prepared, but you need to be able to change your plans if necessary. For example I was out on a weekend backpacking trip in the Sierra. The weather showed temperatures in the high 30s. As we made it to our campsite we hurried to set up our tents and get a fire started because the weather was definitely getting colder and cloudy.

That night as the group was sitting around the camp fire the winds began to pick up and snow began to fall. Here is where we thought about what we were going to do. The group, with the exception of a few people, were on their very first backpacking trip and did not show up completely prepared for cold weather much less snow. As a group we decided to stay in place that night instead of trying to hike out and risk the chance of putting someone in danger. The next morning I woke up to about and inch and a half of snow on the ground and a cold miserable group. It was then that we had to change our plans and hike back out that morning cutting our trip short.

As a group we had to adapt to the weather and what is threw at us. If we continued with our plans we could have potentially placed someone in a position where they could have been hurt, or have such a bad taste of backpacking that they would not try it again. Being adaptable salvaged a trip that could have been a horrible experience instead I am able to tell a pretty interesting story.
-Matt