August 26, 2026 at 5:10 am

He Collapsed From Exhaustion on a Group Hike—and His Friends Kept Walking Without Looking Back

by Benjamin Cottrell

person rolling a suitcase

Pexels/Reddit

Vacations are supposed to bring people closer together, not reveal exactly how little support you can count on.

One man spent an entire trip hauling the group’s shared suitcase across buses, public transit, and city streets, while his two travel companions carried nothing but backpacks.

When exhaustion finally hit on a steep, blazing hot hill near the hotel, he asked for just a few minutes of help. They refused and kept walking.

He ended up collapsing on the roadside as his overheated phone died completely, leaving him stranded without directions for half an hour while his friends reached the hotel without him.

That’s when the real question became less about the weight of the suitcase and more about who actually noticed he was missing.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA FOR RUINING THE VACATION

Three of us went on vacation together. I was carrying the main suitcase, which had everyone’s clothes in it, while the other two only had backpacks.

Make no mistake, this was a pretty big responsibility.

I carried it all the way from Altınoluk to Cunda using buses and public transportation, and kept carrying it while we walked around Cunda. I also had my own shoulder bag.

So when he asks his friends to help him lighten the load, they refuse.

When we were almost at the hotel, there was a steep uphill road, and it was extremely hot, around noon.

I was exhausted and asked them to carry the suitcase for the remaining 5–8 minutes. They both refused and just kept walking.

Before long, he was left with no other choice but to take a break — and here’s where things got messy.

I eventually had to sit down on the side of the road because I was completely exhausted. My phone overheated and shut itself down, so I couldn’t even use maps to find my way to the hotel.

But of course, his friends went ahead without him and still had the audacity to be clueless.

I had to sit in the shade for about 30 minutes waiting for my phone to cool down and turn back on. They didn’t wait for me and went to the hotel without me.

When I finally made it there, neither of them asked what happened or whether I was okay.

Later, they simply asked if I wanted to go get dinner, and when I stayed quiet, they still didn’t ask what was wrong.

Finally, he spoke his mind, and his friends were still on another planet.

Eventually I snapped. Their response was basically, “We didn’t know, you should have told us, we tried to call you.”

Am I wrong for being upset and not wanting to talk to them?

Sounds like he needs to find better friends to travel with.

What did Reddit think?

This, quite simply, is not how friends behave.

Screenshot 2026 08 24 at 11.24.12 AM He Collapsed From Exhaustion on a Group Hike—and His Friends Kept Walking Without Looking Back

This user questions the logistics of all of this.

Screenshot 2026 08 24 at 11.24.26 AM He Collapsed From Exhaustion on a Group Hike—and His Friends Kept Walking Without Looking Back

This commenter thinks of one way to make the bag lighter…

Screenshot 2026 08 24 at 11.25.19 AM He Collapsed From Exhaustion on a Group Hike—and His Friends Kept Walking Without Looking Back

It’s unfair to put all the responsibility onto one person.

Screenshot 2026 08 24 at 11.25.53 AM He Collapsed From Exhaustion on a Group Hike—and His Friends Kept Walking Without Looking Back

Carrying someone else’s belongings without complaint is generous, but it shouldn’t open you up to being abandoned the moment things get hard.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a brother who is concerned about the trouble with splitting funeral costs equally between siblings.

This man had every right to expect a small amount of reciprocity after hauling shared luggage across an entire trip, and asking for five minutes of help on a steep, blazing hill wasn’t an unreasonable request by any measure.

His friends not only refused, they left him behind entirely, and their lack of concern once he finally arrived says a lot.

“We didn’t know, you should have told us” doesn’t hold up when the obvious signs, exhaustion, silence, distance, were right in front of them and simply ignored.

Being upset isn’t an overreaction here, it’s basically the only appropriate response.

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Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.