High Sierra Topix

all really nice sentiment. some observations. Helicopters do not fly at night so you're down for that period. If you're solo, and you fall into a talus hole, you might not reach your sat phone or SPOT.

I love the solo spirit, and also appreciate Balzaccom's input on discussing it with a co-hiker.

I'll stick to the buddy system. We actually discuss scenarios before a trip every year. I bring it up. Stabilize. And go (or call, i guess) Think late in the day when you're tired and fall into a hole. There's a lot of work there, and the Sun just went down (yes this is how i think it happens),, and you cant reach your phone or plb, but your friend can, and calls/activates.. now it's dusk and no helo as they aren't allowed to launch until morning and maybe a storm coming in.

Get trained in stabilizing your partner. It's gonna be a long night regardless of your technology.

My family is used to my antics. My significant other and her family is a different story. I will be getting a PLB when we can afford it. Until then I will have to stick to my planned routes. Larrys situation was the main influence to this decision.

Another Spot user. I enjoy solo hiking, the challenge of traveling cross country and the feeling of being solo for several days in the backcountry. Although it is an imperfect solution I have used one for years. Before using the Spot I carried a GPS with an emergency radio built in (I rarely carry a GPS anymore). My family is more comfortable knowing where I am and I like the SOS feature. It does feel like a leash to civilization and it detracts from the overall wilderness experience but after what happened last summer it seems essential.

Add me to the list of people who are adding a SPOT to their packlist this year. Larry's story definitely helped inform that decision, but having a child was the biggest factor. It will make my family much happier and is simply the responsible thing to do.

On top of that, I always leave a good itinerary. I try to allow some flexibility in my trips, but I specifically chart out what the options are in my itinerary and the SPOT should help people track the decisions I end up making.

I'm also getting more into doing snow hikes in southern california during the winter, and I've seen enough incidents in those conditions that warrant a SPOT as well.

Over all it's a simple thing. If you value your life then take a safety net. It's not much different than taking a first aid kit.

Rogue

I respectfully disagree. Check most of the posters who carry a communication device. For most people it is not for themselves but for their family. Some also look at it as a responsibility to those who must search if we turn up missing. While some say carrying the device ruins their sense of independence the truth is that whether you want it or not organizations and individuals will take it upon themselves to try and bail you out. In our society we are never truely independent. Anyone who claims differently has their head in the sand. How did we get to the trail head? Who built that trail that we start out on? Who built the equipment we use or grew the food we eat, etc. ? Who bears the cost of a search? So for many of us it is not our personal value that counts but how we value others.

Mike

That all may be true but I never factor it in for myself. I have no family that I care about or that I think have any legitimate reason to care about me. I also absolutely refuse to have my life dictated by the uncontrollable actions of others such as SAR. They make their own choices and sometimes pay the consequences of their actions. No one accepts the saying "they made me do it".

I also want to add that it will have to be a cold day in hell for me to activate a PLB. I would crawl out with a broken leg if I could before I would hit a button. I would have to be unable to move.

For me, stuck in the high country with a broken leg would be a cold day in hell Maybe a cold night.

Regarding independence, I can choose to view it any way I want. I can view this little gadget as a major or minor impediment on my sense of independence or I can view it as just another little piece of equipment that I bring, just in case, and I probably will not need to use. I'll choose the latter. Why should I let a little lump of plastic on my pack deter me from my sense of freedom.

For me, securing more life insurance was the big issue. The last thing I want is my family to become destitute because the bread winner is dead. A PLB/SPOT is a present for my wife and a bit of back-up when my kid is with me. I feel a greater responsibility when I'm responsible for the health and safety of a minor. In fact, the first thing I said to my wife after exiting the helicopter last year was

“I’m so sorry, I had to put you through this. We were safe the whole time. It was the only way to get our son out safe. I got our son out safe baby, I got him out safe.”


Mav, you make a very good point regarding potentially putting others in your party at risk trying to rescue your arse.

I don't see taking one as effecting any sort of freedom. To feel that way I think we are talking about the tinkerbell effect. The problem like most things is choice. As long as we still have the freedom to choose for our own lives we maintain that sense of freedom. It's when a law is passed that we must all take PLB's and probably one day real time tracking devices then we will have lost our own freedom over wilderness.

Now if you were to take a satellite phone I would feel a loss of wilderness because at any time someone could reach me.