[pct-l] PLBs, SPOT, and SATs

[Ed Jarrett]

> On a situation closer to home:
> 
> I heard of a hiker who fell while in Bruneau River Canyon near the 
> Idaho/Nevada border. He had serious injuries so the group set off a SPOT. 
> Realizing they were in a canyon (with the possibility of poor satellite 
> reception) his partner climbed out of the canyon with the SPOT. The injured 
> hiker was rescued from the canyon within about an hour of his injury.
> 
> SAR said they had SPOT emergency signals from both inside the canyon and the 
> rim.
> 
> 
> After one of our hiking presentations a local policeman asked us to please 
> carry a SPOT device. Now we carry a SPOT, especially in areas with no cell 
> phone service. We also send frequent SPOT locations when in areas where 
> satellite reception may be bad (canyons).
> 
> I just watched "127 Hours" and it made me think about getting help if I/we 
> really needed it.
> 
> Ken
> www.GottaWalk.com

I have been carrying a SPOT for a couple of years now and upgraded to a SPOT Communicator a few months ago.  It allows me to send short customized text messages from my Droid.  My wife likes it a lot since I am usually traveling solo and I can update her 2 or 3 times a day.  Only in heavy woods with no clear view of the sky do I have a problem getting a message out.
Ed Jarretthttp://aclayjar.blogspot.com/