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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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There are now PLBs that you can trigger once a day - as long as you can see a good part of the sky, that is. It sends a message with your geographical coordinates, with the subtext that you're OK.
If you press another (secure) button on the PLB, it transmits a message saying that you need help.
A friend used one on the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. He wasn't able to e-mail or phone more than about once a week, and the "PLB update" system let his family know each day or so where he was and that he was OK.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Sounds like a perfect item for Cmac to review. I am researching now, any input from users?
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Sending lots of positive energy that a good outcome is still in the works. Nowadays, I read reports like this and they feel like they're striking very close to home.
Consistent with what I used to do as a youngster, I had some grand solo trips planned over the last 5 or 6 years but got out there, didn't feel quite comfortable really getting off the beaten track and ended up cutting every trip short. I had a sat phone on my wife's insistence, but with age (48 now) and three young kids, I'm just way more risk averse than what I used to be. That is not just the risk of falling off some peak I might be soloing, but breaking an ankle in some talus in a remote area where help is really far off.
I love the Sierra and really love remote parts of the backcountry. However, personally, I'm just not comfortable going there without a partner.
Hang tough Larry.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Never count on technology to ensure your safety.
PLB can help locate you :
1) if it is on
2) if you have it in the correct mode
3) and will summon help if you are alert enough to press the help button.
So if you suffer an abrupt catastrope and are not able to push the button, no one will look for you. You take a screaming fall off a trail or down some fourth class gully and suffer head trauma, it won't help you.
However if you have an injury that does not render you unconscious, you can press the button.
My daughter gave me a spot for xmas a couple years ago. When venturing forth on a serious adventure alone or even in a pair, I will carry it. It does not make me invincible. If you put it on tracking mode, the batteries drain very quickly. So it is not that fabulous used that way on a multi-day adventure. On Whitney, I pushed the I'm OK button once a dya to let my husband know all was well. I put it on tracking mode when I went up the Mountaineer's Route alone.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Well, if it's working and can see the sky, another reason to broadcast a "non-emergency" update from a PLB every day. It lets possible searchers where you were each day, until the last post. If you post every 24 or 48 hours, it limits the starting point and search area.
As seamstress says, though, there are several significant 'ifs' in the equation.
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Stevee B
Mountain climber
Oakland, CA
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Carried one of these for a Trans-Sierra ski a few years back. For a few of the days, it worked fine sending out our daily "we are OK message" with GPS coordinates, but on a few occasions it "false signaled" for rescue but did not transmit coordinates. When we returned to civilization, I had several voicemails saying "We see your SPOT device triggered an SOS message, but we did not receive your coordinates, please contact us to notify us that you are OK." I was nonplussed. When I called them, they had no explanation but offered another year subscription for free, rather than a refund, which I begrudgingly accepted. I sent them back the device and they sent me a replacement. No misfires on that one yet.
I think this is a great idea but I'm wary about the quality control and would be interested in hearing if anyone else had these issues.
FYI, these misfires were when we were base camped in the Kaweah Basin, which has sort of a "bermuda triangle" reputation (superstition?) for messing with tech.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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My experience with Spot model from 2009 are similar to those of Seamstress and all positive. I push the OK button when I'm in camp for the evening, although one day I pushed it just before scrambling a somewhat loose cliff in a remote basin. I figured if something happened, searchers would go to where the last transmission happened.
There are various warnings about not being able to link to a satellite from deep canyons or in dense vegetation. I've had good luck in both, but sometimes it seems to take 20 minutes to make the connection and send the OK message to Heidi's email.
Before the trips: I tell her not to worry if she doesn't get the nightly message, just to pass the last transmission location on to S & R if I don't come home on the scheduled day.
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hossjulia
Social climber
Eastside (of the Tetons)
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I decided against a cross country route suggested here because I was solo and did not have a PLB or SPOT. Hiking the JMT alone is not really being alone, so I stuck to the trail.
My mother however was kinda freaked. It was 2 weeks between places I could call her on my cell. I came close to asking a packer to call her for me.
I'm thinking a sat phone. The whole SPOT thing looked kinda complicated. Plus, as mentioned, if you're unconscious, none of it will do you a bit of good.
I don't trust technology all that much. Learned how to use a GPS for SAR, but never bought one. Map & compass works just fine for me.
When going solo, make a plan, let others know when to expect you and stick to it. I give myself a 36 to 48 hour window too. If it's spur of the moment, I put a note on the dash of my car. "I'm going xxxxx. I'm wearing xxxx and my pack is xxxxx. If this car is still here by xxxxx, call SAR.
But then, I only hike trails solo and don't go off them. It sucks. But better than not going.
I'm sorry this hiker was not found yet. Sad.
I'm thinking of putting in my *prime directive* to not search too long for me if I go missing, I hate putting people in danger and/or wasting resources. 'Cause if I get old and or ill, I intend to die in the wilderness.
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John M
climber
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I think this is a great idea but I'm wary about the quality control and would be interested in hearing if anyone else had these issues.
A friend of mine had problems. It went something like this. She went on a 21 day solo backpacking trip. He was suppose to push the okay button once a day. She said she did. She said she got the green light saying her message was sent. I think thats how it goes. I don't own a spot, so am going on memory. Second generation spot I believe. I didn't get a message until day 4 or 5.
I had dropped her off and then got very bad food poisoning on the way home, so was worried she was ill. On day 3 I called SAR and they said wait one day, so we did and then they said they would start looking the next day and that is when we finally got the signal.
My friend says she did exactly the same thing each day. Spot says she must have messed up. I have no idea. If I remember correctly, there were a number of days it didn't work after that.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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I'm thinking a sat phone. The whole SPOT thing looked kinda complicated. Plus, as mentioned, if you're unconscious, none of it will do you a bit of good.
Probably not what you meant, but I have found that a sat phone also works poorly when you're unconscious. :)
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Tan Slacks
climber
Joshua Tree
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I think this is a great idea but I'm wary about the quality control and would be interested in hearing if anyone else had these issues
I have owned a spot for a few years and used it on maybe five trips. There is a learning curve to the device and after a few missed check-ins on my first trip, I think I have it licked.
For me the trick is after pressing the OK button, I wait 10 minutes regardless of ay color lights before turning it of. This wait is no big deal because I only use the check in where I was camping for the night. I have never been in an area where I did not have signal. All my trips have been in the United States, so I can't speak for international us.
My spot model has four ways to send messages. All of them I am allowed to attach a custom message. The OK button I use for signaling that my day has ended and I am set for the night. The "custom" button has a message to let people know I have found something interesting. (This is good for after my return and review places on my map) The third button is black and labeled "help" This button I use to state that for some reason this is my location and I am unable to move. This alerts family and friends that I have designated that I am OK, but need help at my location. The fourth button labeled "SOS" is sent to some international rescue god in the sky, they locate you and notify the local authorities. Even this button you can add a message. I add the route I am on, my age and a particular medical condition I have.
I have never used buttons 3 and 4. Before leaving on my trip I decide who will get messages on buttons 1,2 and 3. It's been a comfort to my family since I travel alone. My longest trip was near a month and I used the tracking feature (another button) So the Spot was on all day, turned off at night and it lasted 23 days without a problem. The tracking feature can be used with a site called SpotWiki which takes your spot signal and places it on a map in real time. I think a "ping is sent out every ten minutes or so. A fun feature that my family back east enjoyed while checking my progress.
I would definitely recommend a spot for solo, cross country travel. It takes a little prep time, but it is simple to use and if you have anyone at home waiting for you... well you know what I mean. IMHO
edit: I have been following the lost hikers in the Sierra's since the first missing notices and I am sending prayers to their loved ones.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, tan slacks and all...
i will still be praying, too...
hard to hear that no sign has shown up, :(
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Fletcher
Trad climber
Fumbling towards stone
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Still hoping and praying for the best even though it does not look encouraging at this point.
Thanks for the feedback on the Spot. I've done a lot of solo backpacking in the past and was thinking about doing a trip earlier this fall. But then I went to Facelift where I guess it would have come handy had I wandered off lost from the New Belgium beer station. I'll probably be getting one in the future.
Eric
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Fletcher
Trad climber
Fumbling towards stone
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Yes, I am of the "get yourself out" school (if at all possible) too. Part of that is being prepared and when going solo, that's a different kind of prepared than when with others. It also means asking yourself a few extra questions when making route decisions, etc.
What I like about the Spot et al. is the daily check-in. You can still be stubbornly working at "getting yourself out" on you own, but at least others will know what you are doing or not doing in a more pin-pointed way.
Eric
Edit: my big initial influence was Colin Fletcher (still is) and in his books he talks about the complexities of solo travel (and the joys) quite a bit.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Thanks for the feedback on Spot, sounds like it is the way to go, maybe have a few friends go in on one, not everyone needs it every day. Sat phone is overkill.
The $50 product marketed as a PLB could work well. It is a one time use device, battery lasts 10 years. It transmits on FRS channel 1. The idea would be to let someone know you have one, or leave a note in your car. Can not send a daily message, but might be the difference in living or dying, and it is much lighter than the Spot, and could be worn on you, so if you get separated from your gear.
I would be curious is SAR is set-up to locate someone using a TracMe.
98% of the distress signals are false activation!
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jody, the 98% includes all EPIRB activations. This includes boat and plane activation. A hard landing will set one off in a plane. I agree, very few are probably Spot signal.
But just like dumb 911 calls the Spot will be abused by the tired hikers, like the guy who activated his beacon and got rescued twice on the same weekend at the Grand Canyon. The rangers ended his trip on the second one.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Exactly the problem....I would posit that alarms from people who don't really need help create more work for rangers, rescue groups etc. than do searches for overdue people with no electronics. I do a lot of solo hiking and you'll never catch me with anything ( headlamp excepted) that needs a battery.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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You can go in a loin cloth if you wish....what you bring is a personal decision.
There have been a lot of posts here that not bringing these devices is foolhardy and irresponsible. My point is that foolish and irresponsible use of said devices causes MORE work and danger for rescuers than is created by the extremely few incidents where they would have made a difference.
The other argument that such a device could save someone's life also doesn't work for me. That's like telling a climber to always use a rope.
Using my reasoning ( or lack thereof ).....public lands managers would be better off if the aforementioned devices were banned.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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I suppose it's your decision wheather you want to soften the world you venture into...
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Anastasia
climber
InLOVEwithAris.
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How about a buddy system which has been working since the dawn of man. No idea why no one mentions this. I let Bill go on his mountaineering trip with folks I trust. He has my permission to go "anywhere" with Jordan, they are a great team.
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