It seems like he perhaps thought he was cutting switchbacks when he went off road. However, crashing brush in the NW is not something for the faint hearted.

It can be very difficult terrain to traverse and very easy to get disoriented. Esp. if you don't have detailed maps and a good sense of where you are in relationship to the map.

And normally you will get wet. Very wet. Perhaps it was frozen enough to prevent that, but if so, that has it's own problems.

And it's easy to get hurt. It's slippery, uneven, there are lots of holes, roots, rotted logs, etc.

I wish him and his family the best, but it's a pretty bad scene IMO.

As others have observed, it's easy to get caught off guard. Even when you focus on being prepared, it's easy to be caught.

For example, I just flew to San Jose for a couple days, and as a result I tore my kit apart and have yet to get it back together.

Likewise, we were hauling some stuff the other day and it took days for me to remember to re-load the kits into the Jeep.

Hopefully this will help remind people (it certainly has reminded me) that we do need to stay prepared, because things don't happen at convenient times.

While I agree a PLB would be optimal in a situation like this, I don't think it is reasonble to expect most people to purchase one. If the extent of their outdoor activities were car camping, they just are not going to see the need.

Personally, I think the most leveraged thing they could have had was clothing. Perhaps is he was better equipped, he might have stayed with the car. Perhaps if he was better equipped he wouldn't have feel compelled to leave the road.

Clothes. Boots. The ability to start a fire. And some food.

-john