[pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB

Sun Mar 27 14:36:54 CDT 2011

I think this comes back to the central question of heavy trucking vs light
vs ultralight hiking: how do you mitigate risk? It's a question that doesn't
just have to do with weight though. If you are concerned about being
prepared for everything, you're going to bring more options for bailing
yourself out of sticky situations.

I don't have a SPOT and I don't plan on getting one. That's because they're
really expensive and they aren't something I think is 100% necessary for my
style of hiking. Partly because I'm almost never alone, I rarely stray off
trail, and I always have a map. In other words, I'm usually as prepared as I
think I can be, I have enough experience to know how to deal with most
common backcountry situations (i.e. cold, wet weather, etc), and I'm not
like the guy was in 127 Hours - I see the need for human companionship and
letting someone know where I'm going.

What happened to your friend's uncle was definitely unexpected and very sad.
But that was also a very rare case. Maybe it's foolhardy of me to say that I
doubt I will be having a heart attack soon (I'm 23, female, have always been
active and eaten well, and have no family history of heart problems). But I
feel that the risk of that or something else like it happening to me, where
I don't have someone who can go hike for help, is small enough not to
warrant needing a SPOT. Just like the likelihood of me developing an
allergic reaction to a bee sting on the trail when I've never had an
allergic reaction to one before is possible, but unlikely, and so I'm not
going to go get a prescription for an EpiPen just in case.

That being said, I don't think you're over prepared if you do decide to get
a SPOT device or something like it. I can see that having that extra safety
would make someone feel much more comfortable, especially if they spent a
lot of time alone. But I certainly don't think that you're a terrible person
for not having one. If everyone who every went hiking absolutely needed a
signaling device, 1. people wouldn't have gone hiking until the last however
many years since those signaling devices were invented, and 2. only people
who could afford the device would experience outdoor sports. And I'm all for
as many people as possible exploring and appreciating the natural world.

I guess it's also a question of HYOH. :)

On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 12:00 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Jim,
> I always advise people to "expect the unexpected"- and try to be prepared
> for
> it. Trees can fall unexpectedly, for no obvious reason - even on a nice day
> with
> little or no breeze. Boulders can come down, starting slides, as snow and
> ice melt from high above the trail. Anyone who has spent a lot of time,
> hiking,
> climbing, and riding, in the back country, as I have, has experienced the
> unexpected. You don't have to be taking foolish risks to have the
> unexpected happen. While I lived in Mendocino an uncle of a close friend
> tragically died while hiking in the Yola Bolies alone.  He was a healthy
> and fit
> guy and knew the area well. He died of a Cardiac Arrest. he had no way
> of summoning help. This happened about 15 years ago. If he had along a way
> of
> summoning help he might have survived. Now that the technology has become
> available I hold that it is foolish not to take advantage of it. It might
> be the
> life of someone else that you save.
>
> MendoRider
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "enyapjr at comcast.net" <enyapjr at comcast.net>
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Sent: Sun, March 27, 2011 11:12:17 AM
> Subject: [pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB
>
> > ...only a fool would not bring one, or some other reliable rescue
> signaling
> >device.
>
> Sorry, MendoRider, but I definitely have to disagree with that statement!
> With a moderate amount of experience, sufficient or adequate gear for the
> conditions
> expected or possible, and the common sense to know when to hunker down or
> bail
> out or
>
> not try something too 'extreme' - one wouldn't have any need for
> "rescue"...
> Not having a SPOT or PLB does not necessarily mean that one is stupid or a
> fool!
>
> > The successful TV program "I Shouldn't be Alive" would not exist if all
> of
> >those
> >
> > people had had a way of calling for rescue.
>
> And how did many of those people get into such 'situations' that they
> needed
> 'rescue'?
> Sometimes it's the opposite - one goes ahead and does something one
> normally
> wouldn't
> because they do have a rescue device with them...  Plus ask some SAR folks
> what
> they
> honestly think of these rescue devices - too many times that 'rescue'
> button is
> pushed
> without THINKING over the situation first - or developing skills needed
> ahead of
> time...
> The most important piece of 'gear' one carries? - the gray matter in one's
> skull
> - it's
> seems amazing that so many people nowadays don't use it (but makes for
> "successful TV"
> programs, however)...
>
> There's also another 'popular' TV program - "A 1,000 Ways to Die"; and
> let's not
> forget
> about the annual "Darwin Awards", either...  I doubt a rescue device would
> have
> helped
> the majority of those people...
>
> What was my 'rescue device' carried many years ago (before 'electronics') &
> never once
>
> used as such - the mirror in my small sighting compass...
> All that said - I'll probably carry a SPOT - but as a COMMUNICATION device,
> NOT
> as a
>
> 'rescue' device...  It will be for the family & friends 'peace of mind',
> and for
> me in
> the sense of 'sharing' my trek with them daily...
> YMMV, HYOH, ad infinitum etceteras......
>
> Happy trails!!!
> Jim (PITA)
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