Everyone at their own pace. Hiking Mauna Loa - Part 2 of 3

I had just made it to the cabin in part 1.  Yet it was obvious we have to go out and try to find Davie as the sun was setting.  I knew he was least experienced in the mountain, least prepared, and while younger, not very well conditioned.  The problem was it had been a while since Martin had last seen him, and we had no idea how far back we may have to go.  We grabbed extra headlights / flashlights, I got some hot water and food in case he needed some, and my mini aid-kit was on me.  I was most worried he had altitude sickness or an injury. He hadn't managed to get through 11 miles in 10 hours - granted that was 3,000ft gain and a lot at 13,000 ft (4,000m) even without the extra 5 miles to the summit.
We were just hoping he is still on the trail.  Worst case would be if we missed him and went farther down.

Hike photos

Discuss signals with your partners.  We had no established communication signals or devices.  Walkie talkies are nice but also not reliable (and he didn't have one).  I always have a whistle (actually 3 - on my jacket, backpack, and compass), so we could at least announce ourselves.

Good that all our worries were unfounded : we got to him not too far, still on the trail, although his headlight wasn't really lighting up much.  He was alright just a little under the altitude.  We grabbed his backpack and made it back as the mountain was falling in darkness and winds howling - shelter thermometer at 27F(-3C).

In the mountain everyone should go at their own pace

On our hike to Vihren (2916m) my friend Spas shared a good piece of mountaineering lore "In the mountain everyone goes with their own pace".

There is much truth to this for best efficiency and safety.  Yet I don't believe it should be taken to the extreme of meeting your buddies only at camp.  

Depending on the situation, frequent checkpoints are necessary.

Help in case of emergencies requires maintaining visibility and within calling/whistle distance.

If finding the best steps to make is critical then being even closer is important.

Obviously, you can have a very enjoyable hike if you are able to keep conversational pace and safely get where you need to be.

I've noticed that going slower than my natural stride and cadence hurts my knees, and overall tires me more.  I much prefer stop-and-go than having to go with someone slower. Most economical speed depends on many individual factors, and aside from balancing the load each one is carrying there is little else one can do.  Taking lots of pictures is a good way to let others catch up.

The group must not go slower than the slowest person can possibly do.  If speed is paramount, go in a file with the stronger people setting trail.  If you slow down to go with the slow ones, they may slow down even more.  Stay ahead and set a little faster pace.

Two people can get lost easier than one.

There were four people on the mountain that day all practically soloing it.

An intrepid Polish girl was day hiking from the observatory.  She had been well acclimatized but was not keeping good pace on the summit descent.   She definitely was going to have to hike back in the dark.  I hope she made it back safely as well.  Keeping someone company can lift both their and your spirits and help set pace.  

I stated half-jokingly that all the times I've been lost I've been hiking with someone.  We still ended up way off the trail several times, while sharing life and adventure stories.  It's easy to get distracted and follow natural paths in the lava instead of the faint trail or tracking the cairns.

Lesson: one person must be designated responsible for following the trail.

On self-sufficiency

Like most extreme sports it is always better and overall safer to have a buddy.  Often unstated is you must have an equally trained buddy.  In practice, when you are with partners that are not capable of rescue or delivering help to you, you are virtually solo.  

* Extreme conditions require extreme preparedness.  You must be self-sufficient, trained and prepared.  Trust your knowledge, skills, and equipment.  Self-sufficiency also means being conservative.  Plan

for contingencies: equipment, physical or psychological failures.  Hazards must be anticipated and avoided, or at worst corrected and treated.  You must track early signs and symptoms, and act conservatively while you still can.

* I have to state I am a very conservative person.  It may not be obvious from these posts ;) It is a matter of taking calculated risks. 

* I also overengineer especially for necessities.  I carry three headlights with spare batteries, and three water treatment methods.  Two methods of starting fire, two types of stoves, two shelter solutions, two hats.  A minimal first-aid kit on me, and a full first aid kit.  I still consider myself ultralight...

* Don't push to your limits in the wilderness.  You must push your body to work harder to get in better shape.  Yet you can only push yourself in a safe environment - go running, cycling, swim in the pool.  Especially if soloing, whether in the ocean or in the mountains, you must be capable to go much faster than your plan and at least twice farther.  "At the end of a day, you should be able to do it all again!"

A trained buddy can make the difference between a fatal outcome and a good story, e.g. for say near or total blackout in freediving where just a little help is needed but you can't help yourself.  There are situations where you can't get yourself out of trouble due to either impaired judgment - e.g.  HACE altitude sickness, or impaired physical ability - e.g. HAPE altitude sickness.  We'll discuss altitude sickness and early signs in more detail in part 3 of this series.