[pct-l] SPOT lessons learned?

[Thomas Jamrog]

I totally agree with you about hikers in the bush needing to know  
about hypothermia.
	More people die from it in the 40 degree range than you think.
	I learned a great tip from Mors Kochanski, an outdoor educator from  
Canada ( His quote, "The more you know the less you carry.") .  His  
simple  test for hypothermic capacity  that if you are not able to  
touch your thumb to your little finger, you must take immediate steps  
to warm up.  And when you stop moving in cold weather , your first  
thought should be to start a fire.  If you are not able to do the  
simple touch test, you'll need to exercise strenuously to restore your  
manipulative capacity to even work a lighter or strike a match.  His  
excellent "Bushcraft" then launches into 65 pages of information about  
fire building.
Uncle Tom

Blogging about the Great Outdoors
on http://tjamrog.wordpress.com ( hotlink)

On Jun 8, 2009, at 6:07 PM, Rick Ostheimer wrote:

> It seems to me there are several lessons to be learned from Censored's
> experience not just for Censored, but for all SPOT users, the SPOT
> organization, and the hiking community in general.
>
> 1.  The SPOT organization needs to improve their training materials on
> how and when to use the device.
>
> 2.  SPOT users need to communicate with their loved ones just what the
> meanings of the "Help" button are.  (Perhaps a better use for the help
> button is to communicate a cancellation of a previous 911 message.)
> They also need to discuss, before their trip, just what the recipients
> reaction should be if they omit an "I'm OK" message when they've  
> agreed
> to send one every day.  This could have avoided a similar SAR mission
> near Fuller Ridge on May 7 last year when another hiker failed to
> communicate an "I'm OK".  Helicopters swooped down on the water  
> fountain
> and a deputy sheriff pulled up to us as we were enjoying trail magic
> under the I-10 bridge last year looking for Brandon White.  Had we  
> seen
> him?  Of course, we asked his trail name, but the deputy didn't
> know---turned out he didn't have on yet, but later became "Hoffa".    
> The
> deputy didn't think or know of  trail registers.  There was one right
> there with the trail magic  which I checked then showed him  an  
> entry by
> Brandon W. the day before.  Your loved ones are hundreds or  
> thousands of
> miles away.  They need to know when they should worry.  Even if you  
> have
> every intention of sending an OK message each day, let me assure you  
> one
> day you'll forget to and then what?
>
> 3.  PCT hikers really need to be aware of the insidious nature of
> hypothermia:  how it develops, what the signs are, just how  
> debilitating
> or deadly it can be, and what they should do when they notice the  
> first
> symptoms (stop, get shelter, get into warm clothes, drink/eat  
> something
> warm).  It's also a good idea to carry a backup to the lighter.  I  
> carry
> a few waterproof matches.
>
> I carried a SPOT last year since I was starting very early sobo from
> Walker Pass and didn't expect to see many hikers.  In 14 days I came
> across only five or six parties of hikers between there and  Cajon
> Pass.  I figured that if something happened and I wound up with an arm
> or leg pinned under an unmovable boulder, it would be preferable to  
> use
> the 911 function (I also subscribed to the rescue insurance) to  
> using my
> Swiss Army Knife to hack off the pinned hand or foot.  I'm glad I  
> had no
> emergencies that required the 911.   I also used it to communicate  
> with
> my wife to let her know I was OK and sent a message faithfully every
> day, knowing that, if I didn't, then she might grow concerned and call
> in help.  Basically, I think it's a good "peace of mind"/insurance
> device.  If something really bad happens, they will be a way to summon
> help.  The "Help" function was, to me, useless.  It's designed to  
> say to
> someone, "Come and help me.  I'm not in a life threatening situation,
> but I need help."  I felt the 911 function was only for truly life
> threatening situations.  If I pressed it, then search and rescue would
> be on the way.
>
> If Censored had been thinking clearly (unlikely, since from her  
> journal,
> it seems she was beginning to go into hypothermia even before she
> stopped to make camp) she would have realized that the Help message
> would only cause worry.  Plus she should have communicated what "Help"
> meant to those who get that message before it was needed.  Apparently
> those receiving the "Help" message were an airline flight away.  Then
> she freaked out and hit the 911, before she was able to calmly assess
> her situation.  Clearly, she probably didn't have adequate training to
> deal with the deteriorating weather conditions and to recognize the
> signs of hypothermia.  If she had, she would have probably stopped and
> made camp the first opportunity after she noticed the temperature
> plummeting.  She had plenty of gear to keep warm and a tarp and bivy  
> to
> keep her dry.  A few degrees of temp change by continuing to hike to a
> lower elevation in the worsening weather was not worth the risk of
> further chilling.  Maybe someone could do a presentation on  
> hypothermia
> at the kickoff.  I don't remember if there was one in '08 or not.
>
> I sympathize with her situation as I had a similar experience on the  
> AT
> and another in Jefferson Park on the flanks of Mt. Jefferson in OR  
> last
> year.  In both cases I was warm enough while I was hiking, but on
> stopping, the BTU machine shut down and I started to chill.  On the  
> AT I
> had been walking all day in a cold rain that turned to freezing rain  
> as
> I neared the top of Tray Mtn and the shelter there.  I certainly felt
> warm enough----until I stopped in a downpour at the overfilled  
> shelter.
> By the time I'd fetched my water I was shivering and didn't notice I
> still had my rain jacket pit zips open.  Fortunately Fiveway told me
> about the pit zips and once I started setting up my tent, the effort
> warmed me enough.  In OR, it had been cold, rainy and windy all day  
> and
> was getting colder and had started a steady drizzle.  I realized this
> was definitely hypothermia weather and started looking for a spot to
> camp.  I passed Nitro Joe who was setting his tent up on a relatively
> "dry" spot on a bed of pine needles protected from the wind by some
> small pines.  Unfortunately, there was no extra room there so I
> continued on another 15 minutes finding another protected, "less wet"
> spot under some hemlocks.  It's a good thing I stopped then as I wrote
> in my journal,  "I was beginning to feel hypothermic as the wind  
> picked
> up. I was having trouble using my fingers. I didn't realize they  
> were so
> cold."  I was having trouble grasping the zipper of the tarptent.   
> After
> a few minutes in my sleeping bag I was warmed up enough to cook a hot
> meal including tea and was warm and toasty.
>
> It irritated me that the SPOT would tell my wife where I was, but  
> had no
> digital display to tell me where I was.  Somehow that wasn't in their
> original product plan.  When I got home last fall, I sent them an  
> email
> suggesting that "failure to communicate" the location to the holder of
> the device was a flaw---especially since with its Li batteries it  
> ways a
> full half pound.  Interestingly, I received a survey from SPOT which
> indicates the second generation of the device may provide a digital  
> display.
>
> The SPOT is designed to communicate a 911 message whether or not it  
> has
> a GPS fix and will continue to send 911 messages until it is turned  
> off
> once the 911 button is pushed.  I'm not sure whether it continues to  
> try
> for a better GPS fix while it is continuing to communicate the 911
> messages.  Fortunately the 911 button is recessed so unlikely to be
> accidentally pushed.  If it's communicating an inaccurate GPS fix as
> described, perhaps the next generation needs to verify satellite
> acquisition and also send the number of satellites contacted and
> accuracy estimate as displayed by most GPS devices.  The SPOT also  
> needs
> a better GPS antenna and/or the more sensitive GPS chip set.  Mine
> doesn't get a fix under heavy tree cover in NW PA.
>
> Obviously, the SPOT response center needs to provide the history of
> recent OK message GPS fixes, if there are any, along with the GPS  
> fix of
> the 911 message to the SAR folks.  All this information should be
> readily available in their computer systems.  If not, then they too  
> need
> reprogrammed.  I plan to follow up on this.
>
> The SPOT device requires online activation to enable its  
> functionality.
> Perhaps the activation could be designed to show show owners videos to
> illustrate the use of the various features and require they are viewed
> before registration takes place----via a link from the video to the
> registration rather than a button to "Accept the agreement" which  
> nobody
> really reads.
>
> Handlebar
>
> Linda wrote:
>
> If the GPS/SPOT is only picking up two satellites (because it hasn't  
> had
> time to get more, or there are mountains, trees, heavy precip, or  
> something
> else blocking or distorting the signals) it can only pinpoint its  
> location
> down to two possible positions.   Any GPS needs contact with three
> satellites to triangulate it down to one position, and more and/or  
> WAAS to
> get you down to less than 10 meter accuracy. So, if you turned SPOT  
> on and
> hit the emergency button right away, or didn't have a clear view of  
> enough
> satellites, it seems like it could possibly transmit a wrong location.
> Maybe this device might be a little bit more useful if it displayed  
> your
> coordinates so you could check on your map that it was actually  
> going to be
> sending the EMT's to your correct location... and maybe then you  
> wouldn't
> even need to call 911.
>
>
>
>
>
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