This day, I attempted to do Dial and Nippletop.  The day started out as usual, with a quick walk up to the trail register and down lake road to the turn off for the Leach trail.  Going up the Leach trail is not bad, but there were a few icy spots that made it adventerous.  After the icey spots were over, switched over to snowshoes for the climb up Noonmark's shoulder.  This climb just killed me.  I couldn't get my heart rate down, and was really struggling.  We made it up to the viewpoint on the shoulder, which honestly is one of the best views on this hike thanks to a fire a decade or two ago.  We rested, and even after resting for a little bit without pack, I could tell that my body was not going to make it through the hike.  So, we turned around and made it back to the car rather early without making our goal.

When this happens, it sucks, but it is better to turn around and come back another day than do something where you need a rescue, or worse, recovery.  It's humbling when it happens, but it will happen to everyone at some point.  This is not the end of my adventures for sure though.