There is only one thing I would like to point out again.
He might have been deceived a bit by the weather and expected it to be much less severe.

The weather this winter was a bit odd. We had one very large snowfall very early in the winter and then we had very mild weather most of the time after that.
Even at the time he left Toronto it had been unseasonably warm.
It was mixed rain and snow that weekend in Muskoka.
It was not the normal cold and dry weather,and very unusual for Muskoka in February.

As you have all picked up from the article there were some other factors involved in his decisions too. Personal problems in his life.
When I first heard this story the thought of him being suicidal hit me, but reading it again I think he wasn't a suicide.

I think he fully intended to return and just got in over his head.