The Misadventures of Dave

Rating: ****

This article provides a story of “what not to do” while enjoying the outdoors. It teaches you the moral that arrogance kills quicker than ignorance.  

Dave being a well experienced hiker decided to go on a hiking trip in the winter. He always carries an effective emergency kit with at least three different ways to start a fire. While hiking he had to nearly crawl through deep patches of snow and after seeing the steep terrain and even deeper snow on the other side, he chose not to descend into the valley and instead went back to set up camp at a spot he noticed just below the pass summit. At this point he began to build a bivy between a rock and a tree. Temperatures began to rise just above freezing causing snow to melt and make everything wet. Being very confident with his fire creating skills he did not protect the wood and even with his experience, he couldn't get a fire started. When he went into his shelter everything was damp and very cold as the temperature did not drop causing for more dripping of snow off the trees. Later on, Dave decided to hike in the dark down the mountain to his original destination.

I found this article very interesting as it is not an ordinary article about a certain topic but more ironic, as not one thing went the way Dave planned it. Basically throughout the article the moral is to not get too over confident with your what you think you're capable of doing. Come prepared for anything and expect the worse but hope for the best. Also, no matter how hard it is to build camp, its better than having to build a second one over again being freezing cold. It also shows that the outdoors can change very fast and you can never be over prepared. Always make sure you have the right equipment or a plan B.  

I recommend this article to anyone who wants a good laugh and to learn from poor Dave’s mistakes.

Dave. "The Misadventures of Dave." 4 All Outdoors. Web. 2 June 2014. 
http://4alloutdoors.org/outdoor-articles/the-misadventures-of-dave/