[pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB

Mon Mar 28 10:23:34 CDT 2011

On money:

I've had this problem on this list before. It's hard sometimes to think
about other people's money situation, I guess. But I have saved enough money
over the last year and a half to hike the trail with the amount of gear I
feel I need, replace the stuff that gets broken, to have a reasonable amount
of zero days, to feed myself and eat relatively well in town, and to donate
to trail angels when they help me out. I'm not going to be eating at 5 star
restaurants or staying in a hotel every time I'm in town, but I'm not trying
to hike the trail for $1,000 either. I am young, however, and have not had
enough years/experience to get an extremely well paying job, and having been
an volunteer for the last two years, I haven't really had much of a paying
job at all. So I don't have enough money to buy top of the line gear in
everything, and I certainly don't have enough money to spend $200 (which was
exactly the cost of my ULA backpack, which I am going to use every day) on
new devices that people haven't needed for hundreds of years.

As for "being in for a hard through hike," like I said, I've been a
"professional" volunteer for the last two years - I'm used to getting a lot
out of my money.

I agree with Diane (I'm sorry, I don't know your trail name). One of the
reasons I'm on the trail to get away from gadgets and as much as I can from
the "buy buy buy!" mentality we're mostly surrounded with. Like she said,
keep the helicopter if it gives me some peace and quiet. Dying in the woods
wouldn't be too terrible of a way to go, in my opinion.

So I know only a few people on the list are going to read this, but I want
to respectfully suggest that it would be nice if we heard a little less
"money isn't an issue! if you really wanted to do this hike, you'd spend
$___ on this new ___." I understand if someone else wants to spend their
money that way. But I'm not going to and I'm not going to feel bad about it
either.

On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 1:34 PM, Paul Robison <paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com>wrote:

> 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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