I'm not really the rugged, outdoorsy type (wish I was) but I did try some things when I was young--particularly spelunking. I did a lot of this years ago.

One thing I learned doing this was the style of the leader of the group made a huge difference on my perspective about how I progressed. One leadership type (laid back, no ego, nothing to prove) could make me feel I could do anything, and usually I did try everything, and successfully. Another type (critical, bossy, controlling) could make me hesitant, and even frightened to try things and in the end made me feel like a wuss and a failure even no matter how I really did.

But you are alone, so you are the leader. And I think beating yourself up over your current challenges is not a leadership style that is conducive to maintaining a realistic perspective regarding your success/failure. You could actually be born to hike long-distances, but could still talk yourself out of pursuing it further because you have stumbled on this first go.

Since you've already ascertained the major problem is a lack of preparedness, I would have to agree this sounds like a live-and-learn thing. Next time, just be sure to be better prepared.

--Ceara1010