High Sierra Topix

Hi there...Jennifer here...one half of Ted and Jen...so good to hear from you all.

I'll add my thanks to the search and rescue folks. My brother called in on Satuday when he had not gotten any of our SPOT messages. He said you guys were terrific. We were also pretty prepared with gear, but not with good "ranger advice". We're from the east coast and were aware of the general forecast, but not the various counties specified so we checked in with ranngers on the east side of the park. They assured us there would not be more than a "dusting" of 1/2" to 1" at higher elevations and told us just to be prepared for the cold. We had that covered...just not the 5' drifts, absence of trail markers/blazes, and the need for crampons and ice axes going up from guitar lake and down from Whitney.

Has anyone talked to SPOT to see what the deal is? We got the new SPOT 2 - which I'm returning -- but it soundens like not just a 'new product' issue but a broader SPOT issue? Beyond letting family know the itinerary and worst case return date, what IS the best safety device for trips like this?

After a week and a half back in civilization, we're getting over our fear of the Sierra Nevadas and will definitely be back...maybe even the HST from Crescent Meadow to Whitney...but definitely not around a big storm. I agree with everyone else that I NEVER want to repeat that. I'm so thank ful that we are safe, that the S&R guys/gals were ready if we needed them, and that we met such good and kind fellow hikers along the way. Thanks for your good thoughts and well wishes.

By the way, lostcoyote....did we really look so frail that you thought we'd have the S&R guys out after us? Come on!!!!! We were getting out of there on our own if it took another week!

JenniferP wrote:Hi there...Jennifer here...one half of Ted and Jen...so good to hear from you all.

By the way, lostcoyote....did we really look so frail that you thought we'd have the S&R guys out after us? Come on!!!!! We were getting out of there on our own if it took another week!

You go girl!!!

First of all I am happy to read that JenniferP has changed her mind about coming
back to the Sierra!
Second of all thank you for all these updates on the Spot, I was considering getting
the newer model to put my wifes mind at ease, but from these reports it seems it
may cause more anxiety than good.
Lostcoyote and Peninsula, was your Spot the newer model also?
Peninsula what photo workshop did you take?

JenniferP wrote:
Has anyone talked to SPOT to see what the deal is? We got the new SPOT 2 - which I'm returning -- but it soundens like not just a 'new product' issue but a broader SPOT issue? Beyond letting family know the itinerary and worst case return date, what IS the best safety device for trips like this?

By the way, lostcoyote....did we really look so frail that you thought we'd have the S&R guys out after us? Come on!!!!! We were getting out of there on our own if it took another week!

nope!
you all sure looked strong ,gung-ho, and high spirited to me. it's just that you were the first people i had seen in awhile - lol - and with the severeity of that storm, plus a 13,000+ foor pass to get over, i just was not sure about an exit over whitney. the chopper flew 1000 feet over me following the high sierra trail route. i did not mean to offend - but i was worried for anyone caught in that storm who i came across and since i only met three people on the whole trip, i thought the backcountry was pretty much emptied out... so yeah, that thought did cross my mind. my bad...lostcoyote tucks his tail low between legs.

one of my friends on my checklist contacted spot during the ordeal said that the customer service guy was not much help. my friend was trying to see if that could fetch any information like signal strength and the customer service guy just said how reliable their product was.

i kept a log of my check-in's and some of them which did not come through were sent in good-view-of-the-sky conditions (greater than 80% view of the sky). i can certainly understand why the signal would not get through in a forest or heavy cloud cover because water vapor or content in tree foilage simply attenuates an L-band RF signal (SPOT transmits around 1.6GHz). what amazed me is that two of the signals transmitted OK during the storm (not at night when it was dumping hard) and this leads me to believe that a good connection to the globalstar satellite network is not only a function of open sky conditions, but satellite overhead position as well.

maybe they (the engineer design crew) need to increase their RF transmit power level or make the antenna more efficient. i dunno.


maverick, no, mine is the larger & older model.

LC

I had problems this summer with the OK message. I re-read the instructions and found out it was operator error! I held down the OK button too long! Turns out that activates the tracking function which I did not pay for or intend to use so nothing happened. When I returned to the quick push and release and gave the Locator a full 20 minutes to connect with a satellite it worked fine. It also helps that my family knows I am kind of spacey and am just as likely to forget to activate the damn thing. I also have the philosophy (that I have shared with my family) that 99 times out of 100 if something was to make it impossible to activate 911 when I need it I would probably die even with 911--so why worry unless they get the 911 message (even then I warn them that I might also activate 911 for someone I encounter that needs help. But you can bet I won't activate it if they only have a little owie or are thirsty or are late for a meeting at work!).

Mike

oldranger wrote:LC

I had problems this summer with the OK message. I re-read the instructions and found out it was operator error! I held down the OK button too long! Turns out that activates the tracking function which I did not pay for or intend to use so nothing happened. When I returned to the quick push and release and gave the Locator a full 20 minutes to connect with a satellite it worked fine. It also helps that my family knows I am kind of spacey and am just as likely to forget to activate the damn thing. I also have the philosophy (that I have shared with my family) that 99 times out of 100 if something was to make it impossible to activate 911 when I need it I would probably die even with 911--so why worry unless they get the 911 message (even then I warn them that I might also activate 911 for someone I encounter that needs help. But you can bet I won't activate it if they only have a little owie or are thirsty or are late for a meeting at work!).

Mike

20 mins to connect seems like a long time..they should fix that. the 911/die thing is disturbing, but i understand it completely.. sigh.. pretty much why i don't go solo.

yeah, i was careful not to press and hold it down.

for what it's worth, here is some info on globalstar network:
http://www.crystalcommunications.net/sa ... alstar.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(SPOT uplinks to Globalstar Sats and if there are 2-4 sats in view at any one time, then yeah, it's important to have near 100% sky view)

i guess it's not 100% coverage across the globe whereas the irridium network is:
http://www.crystalcommunications.net/sa ... ridium.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hey Mike

What about if you left you 151 or summer sausage at the car, would you use it then?

maverick wrote:First of all I am happy to read that JenniferP has changed her mind about coming
back to the Sierra!
Second of all thank you for all these updates on the Spot, I was considering getting
the newer model to put my wifes mind at ease, but from these reports it seems it
may cause more anxiety than good.
Lostcoyote and Peninsula, was your Spot the newer model also?
Peninsula what photo workshop did you take?

Hi Maverick,

I have the original SPOT and I was careful about how I activated the OK button. It is a 2 second push to go ON or OFF, and only a quick push to activate the OK button. I think the 911 button calls for a 2 or 3 second push.

I always checked with my GPS to be sure I could get a reading before activating my SPOT in areas of questionable coverage. I could not get a reading at all in the earlier section of the Mountaineer's Route over Whitney.

I took Alain Briot's photography workshop. I really like Briot's work and teaching style. If you have not read his books, he has published two, and they are both excellent.

Hi Peninsula

I have visited his site, he offers a lot of beneficial information.
Have you read any of Ron Bigelow's articles, there are quite good too.