So what can we take from this?

The one thing I get is that survival is about staying alive; survival training is about learning how. Code put himself into an actual survival situation starting with his first step into deep snow. That may have been his intent, but by sticking to his plan of getting to that specific survival training location on the first night, he quickly got behind a survival schedule. He probably didn't realize he was in an actual survival situation from his first step into snow.

Survival is not a race. By attempting to stay on schedule, Code made it a race when he should have found a good spot and started surviving.

$.02 w/ 20/20 hindsight