I used to drive from Michigan to Connecticut and back during college winter and summer breaks. It was winter break about a decade ago and I thought it would be cool to watch the sunrise at a scenic overlook (I would break somewhere in PA overnight) so I looked one up and set my alarm for super early.

Woke up, plugged the address into my (very outdated) Garmin and set off. It was winter and below freezing but there was no snow on the ground at the time. Turned down a road at one point and realized it wasn’t paved. It said I was turning in 2 miles so I figured what the hell, I’ll go slow and it’ll be fine.

Before I really realized it, the road went down to one lane and started winding around the edge of a mountainside. By the time I was noping, it was far too late to go back. I was inching along this road, terrified of how long I was going to have to do this. I crested a hill and saw a steep switchback and the entire dirt road was a sheet of ice. My car immediately starting slipping down the slope and sideways towards the edge which dropped off at least 25’. I was pumping the brakes, and it just wasn’t working. I had a moment of ‘holy fuck I’m gonna die’ followed by the only thing I could think to do which was crank the wheel towards the inside and hit the gas. My car turned and found traction and slammed me into the side of the mountain.
I was stuck and had to walk and get help from a town nearby. They laughed at me when I said my GPS told me to turn down the road, but they were very generous and got my car unstuck and saw me safely off.
They said a family got stuck up there that year and they nearly died of thirst but got to help on time. That shit was very real and I experienced the craziest feeling of adrenaline when I actually believed I was going to die.