I chuckled at the “death march.” I once hiked in the Badlands and we made a slight error and didn’t notice that the hike we were doing generally required 2 days rather than 1, and the buffalo had knocked down a good number of the trail markers, so sometimes we had to backtrack and find the marker. It was like a military forced march on low rations.
Even though it’s dangerous, I like to hike alone because there is NO whining!!!
(Well; less anyway ;^)
These folks (wife and another couple) went a whole MILE before I plopped them down under a shade tree (As much as a big Utah Juniper can give ya) with their snacks and water and more in a pothole in the creek just upstream, while I forged ahead another 3.5 miles looking for El Dorado.
Them crummy little FRS handheld radios pooped out after about a mile or two, so I had no contact with them any more.
After finding myself out on the side of the canyon where the ledge petered out, it was time to go back - yet emptyhanded one more time.
I get back to where I’d left them and they were GONE!
I soon got them on the radio and told them I was heading to the van.
Turns out that my buddy (?) had put his water in MY backpack! (Thank you Lord!) and the ladies wouldn’t drink their’s because in had ‘specks’ in it! and they didn’t find the pothole, so they went back.
To this DAY I have to put up with their DARING ADVENTURES while on this trip!
My ward did a trek to commemorate the Mormon pioneers coming to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 (this was in 1997.) We were all dressed in pioneer garb and had a few handcarts. Middle of July in Utah.
Not to point any fingers, but the men looked at the map, but didn’t bring the map because they could remember where we were to go. A 2 mile trek turned into a 17 mile death march. We had kids dropping like flies due to heat exertion and dehydration. They even sent out the Search and Rescue squad. We were sooo relieved to see the trucks. There were no lasting effects from the trek, but those leaders learned that perhaps they should bring along maps next time.
Any time I mention that trek to anyone who was on it, we all turn green. LOL.