[pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB

Sun Mar 27 16:40:26 CDT 2011

I met a thru rider who said he aimed to do 100 miles a day!!  He even had tw=
o horses to he could rest one (that his brother drove to him).

I know nothing of riding... But I also love a good zero on level ground by a=
nice creek.

Sent from my iPod

On 2011-03-27, at 5:02 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Paul,
> Riding the trail is a lot different from hiking it. I usually took my 0 days near the trail - since I lived on the trail between those places where I had driven ahead and parked my rig. (Couldn't hitch into town with my horse even if I wanted to.) My 0 days were places where Primo had plenty of graze and good water. I could just relax and take a shower. I brought a solar-heated shower - which also provided the convenience of gravity-fed running water from a faucet right in camp.
>  
> This summer, if all goes well and the snow melts enough, I am riding the Sierra SOBO from Sierra City.
> I have planned seven resupply locations near the trail and will camp at most after retreiving my caches.
>  
> MendoRider 
> 
> From: Paul Robison <paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com>
> To: Hillary Schwirtlich <hillary.schwirtlich at gmail.com>
> Cc: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>; "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>; "enyapjr at comcast.net" <enyapjr at comcast.net>
> Sent: Sun, March 27, 2011 1:34:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB
> 
> Hillary, 
> The spot is 100$. And sub. Is 99$
> 
> A traditional PLB is about 500$... So I thought spot was amazingly cheap for what it does.
> 
> I certainly wouldn't say they are 'really expensive'. If 100$ is a stretch for you;  youre in for a hard thru hike.  That's less than the cost of one zero.
> 
> Just talked to two couples I hiked with last year and both spent over 16,000 ... That sufficiently scared me... I'm even considering skipping Warner springs.
> 
> Sent from my iPod
> 
> On 2011-03-27, at 3:36 PM, Hillary Schwirtlich <hillary.schwirtlich at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > 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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> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
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