It seemed to me they forgot to apply STOP (stop, think, observe, plan). It could have ended very badly.

I've read many such "day hike gone wrong" stories here and in other places to have decided that there is no such thing as a "day hike." There are only over night hikes that don't last that long.

I think most of us would agree that on a casual "day hike" you still need to be prepared to spend at least one night in cold and wet conditions, maybe more. Three days?