I was thinking that either the leaders should carry enough large "trash" bags so there would be one for each person, or distribute one to each person. The bags could be used, with head and arm holes cut, as a poncho, or with just a hole cut for the head as a hasty shelter. Or it could be used for the trash.

We then need to also add a knife or scissors to the list.

I'm baffled by the people I see that get a fire going with a whole bottle lighter fluid! They seem to think it's magic, that it obviates the need for any fire prep at all. But the fluid flashes over and burns out leaving them with a mess and a dumb look on their faces!

Fire making is probably a prime example of the need for skills as well as the shiny gadgets. The paradox of fire is that it is dreadfully easy to make when you need it least (hot and dry) and yet fearfully demanding when you need it most(cold and wet). I have had to make fire when it was really urgent and I decided long ago that a small backpack stove was the most dependable source of flame and heat. Not that heavy - 3 oz to one pound - and absolutely vital in severe conditions.

Quoting for truth! Firecraft can be so so easy but isn't usually that way when you absolutely need it. Practicing in adverse conditions and with a variety of materials is something that I place high on my personal practice and 'pass it on' list.

they went with 40.
they came back with 40.
they survived - and so they learned.
there is no greater teacher than Mother Nature.

I have 2 daughters. One is a teenager.
If i had a dollar for every time i have told those girls to take a warm coat when they go out on a cold day, or go out at night, I'd be a rich man. do they ever listen? No. :-)
but a near-freezing experience will bring the lesson home.

maybe we should take all college students out in groups of 40.
and put them thru the same thing as the group in the story.
it's not a bad idea!

Pete2

I think ... we can but *hope* they learned. In a group that size, at least a few of them must have started thinking about what went wrong and how. But doubtless there are some who stop with, "At least the phone still had signal!" Or worse, "The woods are harrrd! It's a miracle anyone EVER survives!"