I hiked roughly 15km total doing a loop of a small trail not too far away from where I live. As I am about to bunker down as dusk fades into night, tent all set up, about to get my sleeping mat and bag in place, I decide to call my wife to see how she and my kids are doing. She says that our youngest is not doing well, and I hear him crying in the background. He got the flu and I reluctantly left home that morning because he seemed to be dealing with it alright at the time, and my wife gave me her blessing to go.
"You know what. My tent is kinda messed up from all the snow and stuff, so I'll just come home." This is a gross exaggeration--I couldn't get a tight pitch, so it was a little saggy, but it would have worked out fine to sleep in overnight. I needed to say this because my wife may have insisted that I stay, knowing how much I wanted to complete my first trip.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'll pack up and come home."
With sore legs and in the dark I hiked another 4-5 more kilometers to the bus stop and went home.
Sometimes day trips are significant.
