What? I’m a lot more likely to get cold and wet with no access to dry shelter 3 days into a 7 day thru hike in the Sierras than when I’m within a 15 minute walk of my car in the city.
Not GP, but hypothermia strikes more people in summer than winter. In winter, folks know to prepare for it. In summer, they wonder how they could possibly get hypothermia. Then a thunderstorm drenches them and washes out a bridge.
It doesn't even have to be that cold to die of hypothermia. Just cold enough that your body can't maintain above 82°F. If immobile, like due to injury, that can happen at 50°F. Quite possible in the mountains, esp with windchill.
Sure, there are a lot of ifs in that scenario. But it does happen. And it is usually easy enough to buy polypro pants.
The situation the author describes sounds like a summer day hike in subalpine terrain at Rainier. I’d do that in a cotton hoodie and jeans, and I recreate in that part of the cascades 12 months a year. Our forecasts are some of the best in the world, and even if they missed the solution to getting rained on in July on a day hike is to walk back to your car a little damp and disgruntled.
Your example actually makes his point almost exactly. The 7 day thru hike is akin to when hiring a data engineering team and investing super heavily makes sense, the day hike is when you’re chatting with users and figuring out the domain. The “wrong” tools are less consequential at the start and when the stakes are lower.
I’m not trying to respond to the article, overall I agree with the advice. just replying to this silly comment saying I’m more likely to need hiking pants in everyday life than when I’m on a hike, and that my estimation of risk of those activities and locations is off.
