Always return to the car – best interest

The Adirondacks are a special place.

Hiking, in particular, is my favorite part of visiting America’s largest park.

The journey to one of the Adirondack “High Peaks” is grueling but worth it. Sitting on top is a beautiful thing. You’ve never had a better peanut butter and jelly sandwich than when you’re looking out over the High Peaks, with miles of climbing behind you (and miles of descent ahead of you).

But these walks are not without risks. Injury, exhaustion, dehydration. Heck – how about the fact that you hike more than 5 miles into the mountains wilderness, where it’s damn hard for anyone to save you.

And in my opinion, those risks are 100x greater in winter.

• Slip and fall.
• Exposure to the elements (hypothermia, frostbite)
• Navigation errors, losing track and shorter daylight.
• Dehydration, exhaustion, calorie deficit.
• And then, if something bad happens do happen… isolation and delayed rescue.

Tragedy strikes

Another Adirondack hiking tragedy occurred this past weekend.

A 21-year-old hiker slipped off the trail near the summit of Mount Marcy (the highest peak in New York State). She had trouble finding her way back to the trail. It was almost zero degrees Fahrenheit.

She called 911 around 3 p.m (and reached them, that is not guaranteed so far of cell service). Forest Rangers flew a helicopter to her likely location, but Mount Marcy was “boxed in” by cloud. They couldn’t see her and there’s no safe way to land.

So another Ranger left the “base camp” and hiked about seven miles to her location. The ranger found her at 9:50 p.m.

She had already succumbed to hypothermia.

“Always go back to the car”

Hiker deaths are always sobering memories for me. Mother Nature is ruthless out there, and it is not guaranteed that someone can save you. I have walked the same paths as them. There is one “It could have been me” feeling in my stomach.

Every time a major rescue, injury or death occurs in the Adirondacks, I think back to what one of my hiking mentors once told me:

“The most important rule when walking is: “Always go back to the car.”

It sounds spicy. And after the death of a hiker, maybe even a little rude. But there is a lot of power in that simple idea.

With every step a walker takes, he must take into account…“Am I at risk of not getting back to my car at the hikers’ parking lot, where the route starts?“

Sometimes it’s one big thing that goes wrong. You trip over a stick and break your leg. Okay – hard to see that one coming.

However, most of the time it’s a lot of little things that add up and have a negative effect. Details are still emerging about this young woman’s death last weekend.

Please know: This is not Monday morning quarterback. This is a lesson from a sad cautionary tale. Many fatal accidents involve people who respected nature, yet faced rapid changes or a simple misstep with serious consequences.

Based on the details we Doing know:

• She was already disoriented from hypothermia when she called 911 at 3 p.m. The question then is…When did she first notice how cold she felt? And one of the 10 hiking essentials that you should always take with you “Extra clothing – enough to survive an emergency overnight.” Did she have enough warm clothes?
• She called 911 at 3 p.m. Sunset was around 5:30 p.m. and the walk back was probably still a good four hours away. Did she know she was running out of daylight?
• She lost track – above treeline it’s incredibly easy, special in winter and doubly so when swallowed by cloud cover. When did she know she had lost her trail? Did she look back as she left the tree line? Did she have a map and compass in her backpack?
• Speaking of clouds…has the weather changed on her? The weather in the mountains can change quickly. Was the weather changing around her, and did she notice?
• She was alone (with her dog, who survived). Walking alone is a risk in itself. Walking alone in winter is even more fun. Could a partner or group have helped the situation?

It’s sad to think that any of these ideas above power were enough to prevent her death.

In most accidents involving hikers, there are many factors that reduce the chance of an accident “back to the car.” It basically means, “Sometimes, you must turn around and stop before you reach the top.

Of course, it’s hard to take a big trip to the mountains, make plans, take time off work, hike all day and then decide to turn around before you reach the top. Who wants to do that?!

But as soon as you feel like “getting back to the car” might be in jeopardy…well, you might be breaking the #1 (!!!) rule of walking:

‘Always go back to the car.“

Invert. Always turn around.

There’s a reason why Charlie Munger’s favorite line was: “Turn around. Always turn around.”

Life becomes (often) simpler when we turn problems inside out and solve them that way. Munger would say:

“All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.”

Ask yourself:

1. What are the worst things that can happen?
2. What would cause those worst things that could happen?
3. How are you? prevent or to deny which causes take place?

“Always go back to your car” is an abbreviation for this inversion principle, applied to walking. In one simple statement, we are forced to think about what could prevent us from returning home and what we need to do to avoid a negative outcome.

You won. Stop playing.

The investment consequences that come to mind are Bill Bernstein’s all-timer:

“Once you win the game, it’s okay to stop playing.”

And one of Buffett’s lesser-known, but still powerful quotes:

“Why risk what you do to have And need for what you don’t have And not necessary?“

In retirement planning, these ideas can be our guiding stars.

If your portfolio is larger than you could possibly spend, do you still need additional risk exposure?

If the dollars you have are critical to your retirement success, why expose them to more risk than necessary?

Would you prefer:

• A completely boring investment process that ensures you have the retirement you want? Or…
• A volatile investment path that could take your portfolio tenfold before you die, or leave you bankrupt at age 70?

These are not trick questions.

You know your goals. You’ve identified what can lead to failure. Sometimes the risk is too great and far outweighs any rewards.

Always return to your car.

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