marlin55388 wrote on Dec 9^th, 2010 at 5:35am:

So you think you can always flick your BIC :-/   , I hope you know so!

Yep!  I've been in potential hypothermic situations twice times, one of which was hypothermia.  Early detection is key.  With the one actual hypothermia event we quickly got shelter, food, warm drink and into our sleeping bags.  Shortly after we both passed out.  Woke up a few hours later alive & well.

Somewhat disagree that a good scout never ditches.  Pushing my limits is part of how I learn where those limits are.  There are stupid ways to do it, there are smart ways to do it.  Solo I lean towards caution, often not doing things I know I *should* be fine with.  Tandem I'm willing & happy to push harder.  For me, being out there often entails pushing my boundries.  Always with an exit plan.  That exit plan might be, stay close to shore in case I ditch.