> "...I've taken winter trips on well traveled routes with probably much less safety gear than I should have."

Of course, everyone has! The difference between an interesting trip and big trouble is the decisions you make along the way.

The thought processes of some people is often totally beyond my understanding.

I have traveled (with just a dog) from California to Maine, and zigzagged back and forth across the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada, and gone to many isolated ghost towns. The only time I really got into real trouble was on a well-used, two-lane state highway in Utah, when I was run off the road by an oncoming car that was passing a pickup/trailer on a curve, and I nearly rolled, blowing a tire and breaking a shock absorber.

Sometimes I've been on a road so rough (with definite signs to my destination) that I've stopped the vehicle and walked ahead to check on the further conditions. Sometimes I gave up and just turned around and returned to the highway. Sometimes I continued at the speed of a slow walk. But I never got stuck and never damaged the car.

I've walked trails with the dog and had the dog stop me a couple of times, her ears back and tail tucked. We turned around and headed back to camp, awareness on max, head swiveling constantly. Never saw the danger (large predator, I'm assuming), but knew for certain that it was there, somewhere.

I've driven on gravel roads and gotten onto the wrong side road because a sign was down. When the side road was good, I went a good long way before I realized my mistake. Then I turned around and went back.

NEVER, in all my travels, have I tried to take a shortcut when I was lost, on foot or driving. NOT EVER! That is just begging for trouble, esp when no one even knew what state I was in.

Roads and trails are always the easiest paths, and for a good reason! You can make far better time on a winding gravel/dirt road than you can by attempting to go across country, wearing yourself out by climbing down and up, setting yourself up for hypothermia by crossing streams, taking the chance of injuring yourself in rough country.

As has been said here before, most personal disasters are preceded by people making repeated stupid decisions.

Stay alive. Try thinking.

Sue