Interesting addition to the story there LazyJoe. Thanks for posting it.

Three miles. The big question to me is: did he know it was only a few miles to safety? Did he know and not care? Was this one of those classic male White Whale moments when men tell themselves they will do this, whatever this may be, or die trying? Seems to be mostly a male trait. Women, for the most part, seem to have more sense. Was his next destination a do-or-die goal?

Sometimes people just get in a funk and start thinking in circles. I get the feeling that if the proverbial 'little bird' had dropped by, administered a dope slap, and told him to get off his rear and start marching toward safety, he would have. Of course long before he died he would have been in no condition to walk out. Three miles would have been too far.

Three miles, even given extremely deep snow, is close. Depending on the terrain I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't hear sounds or see a glow from the restaurant. But here again he wasn't a spring chicken so how acute his eyes and ears might have been remains a question.