That's when you delegate! Supervise from the command post.

LOL, Thats not my style. Besides there are some things you just have to be there for no matter what. I have spent more than a couple cold nights hiking in the Mountains when someone came across a body on a hike earlier in the day.

Ugh. I'll bet that makes for some miserable nights.

Sometimes. Sometimes its kind of fun.

I hiked down into the gorge once when I was with the newspaper. Hikers found a body, so I followed the detectives in there about midnight, with no good flashlight of my own. It was a miserable night to say the least.

That's the night I decided to ALWAYS carry a flashlight.

I enjoy the calls in the mountains. No press, very few other people and still doing the job. Most of the time trying to figure out if it was a suicide, homicide or a natural death/accident. The only bad part is the weather is usually bad and usually its dark and you are on a steep slope. Nobody dies in a nice flat meadow.

After the last time I spent on the side of a mountain freezing my butt of I keep a backpack with a woobbie, candle lantern and the same basic survival kit I carry while hunting and hiking. I was hurtng after that one. I think that was the end for my knee. I think that night did it in.

I don't mind hiking during the day. Even being fat and old, I can pace myself and usually I'm fine. But night hiking is something different. I tend to get a little paranoid in the dark anyway, so it kind of takes all the fun out of it.

LOL, I am usually wearing a full duty gear and armor so no real paranoia at night. I did throw a headlamp to my pack as well. But hiking in full gear sucks, Duty belts were not made for traveling.

That particular night, I wasn't armed as it was on federal park land and I was with a couple of detectives and the sheriff, so I didn't see the need to tempt the federal rangers. I just plain wasn't prepared. I don't make those mistakes any more.

I need to pick up a poncho to throw in there as well. There are times when we need to keep someone up there all night and I would build a shelter for whomever had to stay. No reason to be completely miserable if you can avoid it.