LMBSGV wrote:
In terms of using the SOS/Panic button for someone else, there was an S&R for a missing person when I did a trip on 2009. I met an S&R crew at Hutchinson Meadow on my second morning out. I told them I was carrying a SPOT and asked if I should hit the SOS if I came across the missing hiker. They were pretty emphatic saying "NO" since that would start a second separate search for me. I'm curious what other S&R professionals on this site think about that advice.
That would split the resources to cover both searches. It would also double the paperwork.... At the point you were talking to them, they did not know where the guy was, and so yes, they would have to assume it was for you when you hit it and divert resources, continuing the search for the other guy as planned until someone confirmed the find. They would never assume - if they stopped searching for the guy and he died as a result, imagine the outcome.
Finding an injured person while backpacking, I would push the button, not knowing in advance whether there is a search or not. If I knew there was a search on what happened next would depend on where I was - with an idea that the search is out of the area, I'd probably push it. If I knew searchers were afoot in the same area, building a fire (yes, even in a ban), shouting, or using bright colored items to signal, or a mirror, or sending some subgroup of my group out to find a search team, would all be options to try in combination until found. If the guy was in immediate peril I'd risk the wrath and punch it. 911 is 911. the thing is, if you have the first aid training to know that the person is in immediate need, and do nothing, the liability to you is increased. Better to do what you can at the time to get help and then attempt to stabilize him. Having first aid training plus some years of search and rescue training, the expectation for me will be somewhat higher. And just from the standpoint of a good samaritan - the moral thing is to do what you can with what you have. (Yep, I think about liability a lot. I know the random Joe Q Public does not, or thinks about it differently than I do. I get to think about it as a hiking group organizer, in my day job, and as a searcher. It may be the last thing you think about when you're in a situation if you aren't really aware of the tangled web it can be, but the fun part is, once you're called to question... you never go back to ignoring it.)
I registered a personal locator beacon last week and debate this myself. If I come across someone and push the button on their behalf, I'll have to stay with the person til help comes - I'm the registered owner. That may sound obvious but people reason differently out there than they do at home at the computer. There is a reason you read the newspaper article and say "what the heck, why did they do that, I would never do that." I could easily see people finding a guy in dire straits and walking on, because they do that sometimes.
Not entirely sure what the official in-charge folks think about this matter yet. Something tells me my own search team won't care if I light it up for someone else. National parks have their own ways about them and have a lot of federal regs to worry about. More research for me.
As to the original question - I don't have a lot of experience with SPOT other than watching people push OK and occasionally seeing it not work. I think communicating a delay (not a disabled hiker but a slowed one) is a good use of it, if you make it clear to the reporting party at home they have to sit and wait and watch the OK signal instead of calling for help. It would save a lot of taxpayer dollars and help the family to see you're still moving. IF the SPOT signal worked. I can see in that situation a panic at home, if suddenly an OK signal doesn't get through - sometimes it doesn't connect, which is why SEKI has in their recommendations that you not rely on it.
One of the reasons I went with a straight PLB instead of a SPOT - SPOT and InReach have a weaker signal than PLB units do. I don't have anyone at home to sit watching OK signals so the communication is less of a draw, and, when I do send a 911, I want it to be detected and have no doubt about that. The other reason - it's cheaper in the long term than paying SPOT subscriptions.
BTW, I should make it clear - these are my personal opinions, not the official line on these matters. A perfect example of official recommendations is the pdf on the Sequoia-Kings website. Don't rely on electronic devices. Plan ahead. Leave an itinerary. Etc.
device and I think I'm ready to use it responsibly. As I'm writing itineraries and plans for my emergency contacts, I'm challenged to think of what I'd want them to do in a "help" situation. I'm sure many of you have thought this through and I'd wonder what you come up with.
