"Barefoot Jake" worked his way up to doing a lot of solo off-trail hiking. Then one day he found his limit. This is a detailed first-person account with plenty of good photos. Read through his hiking exploits and you'll see he's a helluva adventurer but the risk is always there.

A few observations:

- Skimping on route planning was a key factor in his situation.

- He fell and lost his water bottle. We have discussed gear-loss scenarios here at ETS a fair bit.

- His cellphone was the key to quick rescue.

- The spot where he waited for rescue, injured, was an exposed rocky slope with little in the way of resources. You don't always get to choose where you are surviving.

I think his own writing sums it up very well - "They are always looking at me like I'm a nut job - often warning me that the things I do are very risky and might some day get me into serious trouble"

I am surprised he was hiking without adequate (7.5 minute quadrangles) maps. They alone would have allowed him to make better decisions.

Evidently he was hiking im minimalist foot gear. One wonders if something more adapted to climbing (more edging ability) would have helped.....

I carry two water holders, usually different kinds

(Camel Bak and metal bottle)

I sense an imminent Darwin Award here. (I hope I Never get a Darwin Award!)