Homer ... sounds like you're doing a great job.

And back to the main thread:
Well, as hikermore said - all's well that ends well. That's true so many times in the wilderness.

The search and rescue guys did a really good job on this response. And the lost hiker did enough things right to make it back home.

I learned something from this story.

ALWAYS memorize the complete weather forecast - for the time period during your planned trip AND ALSO for the week after you plan to return.

How many times do we depart for a trip over a long weekend and say to ourselves "Well ... the weather's good for the weekend. So I'm going on this trip. By the middle of the following week a storm's coming in - but I'll be long gone by that happens."

So we tend to just memorize the weather that is appropriate for our main plan - but without getting the exact details of the extended forecast. But the moral is - if things go wrong then knowing exactly what that extended forecast is can significantly help our decision making.

Pete