First time backpacking solo?

[ChinMusic]

If the phone still works.

Yeah, no one has EVER broken a compass.......

Especially if you are dehydrated out of your mind and left the pack on a rock 2 miles ago.

Interesting reminder.......thanks.

After setting up at a dry camp for the evening and finding myself a bit low on water, I will log my tent's waypoint, take my GPS with me, look for water, find water, and KNOW I can find my tent again no matter how far I wondered.....even in the dark.

[TRAUMAhead]

I have gone solo. I think the hardest part for me was camp. I'm so used to operating in a team or group I have to get used to my own company all over again. Maybe I should get a knot guide too so I can keep up with my climbing knots.

The solitude should be interesting, although I might freak myself out. :retard: Even when I'm home, I seldom like doing things solo like eating out, going to a movie, shopping, etc. Maybe it's just a comfort mindset, I don't know.

[ChinMusic]

Even when I'm home, I seldom like doing things solo like eating out, going to a movie, shopping, etc. Maybe it's just a comfort mindset, I don't know.

The mindset might have a lot to do with it. I can go from a group, to solo, and hardly make note of it. I can be by myself for several days and have to remind myself of that. But that is just me. I have friends who would freak out if they found themselves alone. Even when backpacking with a group, which I prefer, I like to do the hiking part alone. I'd rather save the chit chat for camp and listen to nature while on the move.

If I am going to a fairly remote area by myself, I'm bringing a Sat Phone. For something like the AT, where someone should be coming by within a few hours (depends on the season), communication is not as important.

Someone mentioned the SPOT. A great device and concept. It gives your loved ones a piece of mind when you check in (if the signal goes thru). It SHOULD give YOU some piece of mind that help will be coming if the **** hits the fan. I am not familiar with the gen 2 SPOT. Gen 1 was not very user friendly and nearly worthless in tree cover for non-emer functions.

Personally I prefer the Sat Phone but a gen 2 SPOT would probably suffice.

[AlmostThere]

Chinmusic, I leave you with the words of wisdom my elders in SAR gave me, on a number of occasions - the first bad assumption we make in a long chain of bad assumptions is that nothing will ever go wrong. All the experience in the world only makes you complacent.

You do know how to go without a compass, right? Or are you aware that's possible?

You need to google up the story of the 70-something backpacker with 60+ years of experience who died on Whitney in late 2009. They found his jacket, his shoes, his full backpack, and then found him, sitting dead on a rock. Also google up "paradoxical undressing."

Traumahead, have fun out there.

[ChinMusic]

You need to google up the story of the 70-something backpacker with 60+ years of experience who died on Whitney in late 2009. They found his jacket, his shoes, his full backpack, and then found him, sitting dead on a rock. Also google up "paradoxical undressing."

And this has what to do with the price of beans?

"Paradoxical undressing" is a well-know phenomena. In simple terms he froze to death and in the late stages felt "hot". Prior to this being well known it was thought these cases involved criminal activity.

[Wandering Daisy]

If you go in with the mindset that "someone" is going to rescue you because you have SPOT or that the GPS will find the trail, you will be less vigilent than without. It is a totally different mind set to go in solo, in very remote country, off trail, with the mind set that the buck truely stops at your own outdoor competence. Even if you have multiple gagets, you need the mindset that you are on your own. This keeps you on your toes. Your skill and judgement should be your main "equipment"; the other gagets are just backup.

Do you have a "plan" when things go wrong? Or are you just going to push the button on SPOT? So how are you going to handle the next day or two before someone gets to you?

As for finding a trail in snow- first if you know where you are going there really is little need to follow the trail. Secondly, I am very good at spotting clues of a snow covered trail. I do quite well in snow with just my map.

My main criticism of GPS is that it allows people with few orienteering skills to go to places they really should not be. It is sort of the old saying, "if you have a 4wd truck, you will go where you should not and get stuck". It has been shown that carrying avalanche beacons does not result in fewer deaths. Having these gagets should not seduce you into doing what you would not do without them. I have repeatedly run across people, GPS in hand, who "knew where they were" as a spot on a map, but really had no overall concept of where they were. I am convinced that people who rely on GPS are less aware of their surroundings.

All that said, I also realize there are people who cannot read a map no matter how hard they try. They are not stupid. It is just a spatial apptitude they do not have. My husband is one of these. Other than problems with maps, he has great outdoor/survival skills. I was so glad when he got his GPS because I now worry a lot less about him not finding his way back to camp. When he goes hunting with others, he takes his GPS and a walkie-talkie. I am nnot anit-GPS, but remember it is just a tool- needs an intellegent user.

[87TT]

Amen

[ChinMusic]

Gee. So what have we learned in this thread.

GPS users are fools who don't know their limitations.
GPS/SPOT users are fools who rely on pushing buttons to get out of trouble.
GPS users stare at a screen all day but really don't know where they are.

paleeeeeze

[Wandering Daisy]

We did not generalize that all SPOT and GPS users are fools. That is something YOU read into our comments. We said that the best of both worlds is to become competant in both. For hundreds of years people have been navigating by map and compass. Those who are proficient can get by just fine without a GPS and can locate themselves on a map just as well. Having SPOT is like having a hiking buddy instead of going alone. Knowing you have a "back-up" be it companions or SPOT, the level of risk you take should be the same as if you are alone. SPOT only lets you signal that you are in distress- it does not guarentee speedy rescue. There are many like you who almost exclusively use GPS and also know how to use a map but prefer GPS. It is sort of like the debate about having kids use a calculator in school. You need to learn the basics without the calculator. Then you can use the calculator as a tool to help you do math more efficiently. You do not skip the basics.

A majority of GPS and SPOT users are not fools. But, believe me, I have seen a number of fools out there running around without a clue, GPS or SPOT in hand. GPS and SPOT are great tools, but no tool is a substitute for basic outdoor skills. They are a complement to those skills. All we old-timers are doing is encouraging GPS users to take some time and also become competent with map and compass and to learn the details of your GPS unit- not just follow the little arrow. Really understand the source of the basemaps that your GPS uses. Understand that some "trails" marked on maps and simply scanned in on GPS software are no longer maintained and for all practical purposes not there. Set the proper datum on the GPS.

Your GPS IS a "map", but one dependent on batteries, satallites, subject to break down and only as good as the software that comes with it. You are not going to have any better luck with a crappy resolution paper map than with a crappy resolution GPS map. And a half-baked GPS user is no better than a half-baked map and compass user (ie: did you know that a compass can be affected by the kind of rock under your feet?).

[Yasha]

I have attached my back packers list for the high Sierra might help you in the process