Knowing When to Bail

On the SRW, bailing does not necessarily mean getting off the Ridge immediately. Depending on where you are and the circumstances, it may mean retracing your route, stopping earlier than planned, remaining in a suitable location overnight or, in some circumstances, considering North Mirlpunda. The important decision is recognising when continuing with the original plan is becoming the more dangerous option.

When Problems Begin to Accumulate

The difficulty is that this decision rarely arrives as one obvious moment. More often, several smaller problems begin accumulating. Progress is slower than expected. The weather is deteriorating. Somebody is becoming increasingly tired. Clothing or equipment is wet. The temperature is falling. Navigation is taking longer because visibility has deteriorated. The group has less daylight remaining than anticipated and the terrain ahead is more demanding than the terrain already covered.

Any one of these may be manageable. The concern increases when several begin occurring together. A group that is behind schedule but otherwise travelling strongly may simply need to reconsider where it intends to stop. A group that is behind schedule, increasingly tired, becoming cold and approaching difficult terrain in deteriorating weather is dealing with a very different situation.

The recorded walking times provide a useful reference for recognising this. If you are substantially behind the progress anticipated for the day, do not simply calculate how many kilometres remain. Look at which sections remain. Three kilometres of relatively straightforward terrain is very different from three kilometres containing the Arrows, steep scrambling, difficult navigation or substantial climbing and descending.

Watch the Condition of the Group

The condition of the group needs to be assessed at the same time. Fatigue is not simply about walking more slowly. Increasing stumbles, poor foot placement, hesitation on terrain that was previously being negotiated confidently, difficulty concentrating or repeated navigational mistakes can indicate that the ability of the group to deal safely with the terrain is deteriorating. This matters particularly when the terrain ahead is more consequential than the terrain already crossed.

Cold and wet conditions can change the situation quickly. Someone who has been reasonably comfortable while moving may cool rapidly when the group stops. Shivering, difficulty getting warm, increasing clumsiness, confusion or unusual behaviour should not be treated as something to simply push through in the hope of reaching the next campsite. The time to respond to somebody becoming cold is early, while they can still think clearly, put on warmer clothing, change wet layers where practicable, eat and drink and contribute to establishing shelter.

Food and water also form part of the assessment. A plan that was reasonable when the group expected to reach camp several hours earlier may become increasingly questionable if progress has been substantially slower. Continuing into difficult terrain while food, water, energy and daylight are all being consumed leaves progressively less capacity to deal with another problem if one occurs.

Weather Can Change More Than the Weather

Weather deserves particular attention because it can affect several of these factors at the same time. Rain can make rock slippery and increase the consequences of a fall. Low cloud can remove distant navigational references. Wind and wet clothing can increase heat loss. Poor visibility can slow route finding, which increases the amount of time the group remains exposed to the conditions.

What initially appears to be simply a deterioration in the weather can therefore begin affecting navigation, progress, fatigue and body temperature simultaneously.

Consider the Terrain Ahead

The terrain ahead matters just as much as the conditions where you are standing. There are places on the SRW where continuing commits you to terrain from which retreat becomes considerably more difficult.

Before entering a demanding section, consider whether the group still has the physical capacity, daylight, weather window and navigational confidence required to complete what lies ahead. The appropriate time to bail may be before entering the difficult terrain rather than after becoming committed to it.

In many parts of the SRW, retracing your route may be the most obvious response, particularly if the difficult terrain or deteriorating conditions lie ahead. This still requires judgement. The terrain already crossed may itself have been demanding, and what was manageable several hours earlier may be considerably more difficult when descending, tired, wet or in poor visibility. The decision to turn around therefore needs to be made early enough for retracing your route to remain a realistic option.

North Mirlpunda Track Is Not an Easy Escape

The Arrows require particular consideration because North Mirlpunda provides a possible alternative way of leaving the Ridge. It should not, however, be regarded as an easy escape route or an automatic solution when conditions deteriorate.

Reaching North Mirlpunda from the crest involves steep and rough terrain and approximately 4.5 kms to the North Boundary Track/Fence. After reaching the North Boundary Track, approximately 7.5 kilometres still remains to the Ellen Peak Trailhead to the east or approximately 12 kilometers west to Bluff Knoll Cafe/ Ranger station, and there is no normal public vehicle access to the base of the track.

North Mirlpunda is therefore better regarded as a possible retreat for a strong and fully mobile party making a deliberate decision to leave the Ridge while conditions remain manageable. If the reason for bailing is severe fatigue, deteriorating weather, cold or poor visibility, those same factors may make the North Mirlpunda Track descent and the subsequent journey along the northern boundary considerably more difficult.

If somebody is seriously injured, becoming hypothermic or approaching physical exhaustion, attempting to force a retreat down difficult terrain may create additional risk rather than solve the original problem.

Sometimes the Better Decision Is to Stop

Sometimes the better decision may simply be to stop.

If a suitable location can be found and the group has the equipment to manage the conditions, establishing shelter before people become seriously cold or exhausted can preserve options that may disappear if the group continues. Warm clothing can be put on, wet layers changed where practicable, food and water taken and people given an opportunity to recover. It may be considerably better to establish shelter while there is still daylight and everyone remains capable of contributing than to continue until darkness, exhaustion or cold forces the decision upon you.

Waiting overnight can also change the circumstances considerably. Rest may improve the physical condition of the group, daylight will make navigation and terrain assessment easier and the weather may have changed. The decision about whether to continue, retrace the route or consider another option can then be made using the conditions that actually exist in the morning rather than being forced late in the day when fatigue, cold and darkness are reducing the available choices.

This does not mean that remaining on the Ridge is always preferable. A serious injury, worsening medical condition, developing hypothermia or another emergency may require assistance. The important distinction is that leaving the Ridge should not automatically be assumed to be safer simply because an alternative route exists. Any retreat needs to be assessed in terms of the terrain involved, the weather, the amount of daylight available and whether everyone in the group remains capable of completing it.

Make the Decision Before Your Options Disappear

Predetermined decision points can help prevent these choices from being left too late. During planning, identify locations where progress can be assessed against the time of day and what remains ahead. The recorded section times provide a useful reference. If the group reaches a significant point considerably later than expected, reconsider the next section before entering it rather than assuming the lost time can simply be recovered.

A particularly important warning sign is when the plan begins to depend on everything going right. If reaching the intended campsite requires the group to match the fastest recorded time, encounter no navigational delays, maintain its present pace despite increasing fatigue and experience no further deterioration in the weather, much of the available margin has already disappeared.

There is also an important difference between inconvenience and danger. Stopping earlier than planned may mean an uncomfortable night, a changed itinerary or abandoning an objective that people have invested considerable effort in achieving. Those consequences can make continuing seem attractive. They need to be weighed against what continuing actually commits the group to, particularly when darkness, cold, exposure, difficult terrain or deteriorating physical condition are involved.

The original itinerary was developed before the trip using the information available at the time. Once you are on the Ridge, you have better information. You know the weather you are actually experiencing, the rate at which the group is actually travelling, how people are coping with their packs and the terrain, how much food and water remain, how much usable daylight is left and what the terrain ahead involves.

Knowing when to bail is recognising when that information no longer supports the original plan and acting while realistic choices still remain. The decision may be to retrace your route, stop and establish shelter, reconsider the journey in the morning or, where the circumstances and condition of the group make it appropriate, consider North Mirlpunda. The important part is making that decision before deteriorating conditions, fatigue, cold, darkness or difficult terrain make it for you.