Safety Check-in

[forester]

$150 and a monthly fee are a big expense to me. For that, I better get unlimited texting and photo messaging...

Most of the time when I have been heading towards being in trouble, if things had went south, a PLB wouldn't have been advantageous because it would have happened too quickly. Because I am highly competitive and put myself in the mindset that I'm going to get out of whatever trouble I get myself into, I would wager that having a PLB would make me more likely to do something stupid.

Another thing I've noticed is that I hike much smarter and safer when I'm by myself.

Overall, however, I think for some people, a PLB is a necessity. People who hike big mountains and such.

[sprengers4jc]

$150 and a monthly fee are a big expense to me. For that, I better get unlimited texting and photo messaging...

Most of the time when I have been heading towards being in trouble, if things had went south, a PLB wouldn't have been advantageous because it would have happened too quickly. Because I am highly competitive and put myself in the mindset that I'm going to get out of whatever trouble I get myself into, I would wager that having a PLB would make me more likely to do something stupid.

Another thing I've noticed is that I hike much smarter and safer when I'm by myself.

Overall, however, I think for some people, a PLB is a necessity. People who hike big mountains and such.

Different strokes, different folks . For clarification, though, a PLB is not the same thing as a Spot or Delorme InReach. Other than the initial expense, there is no charge at all for it. It gets registered with NOAA and the battery lasts six years. It doesn't send messages (two way, or otherwise). It's for an emergency only and once it's activated, NOAA contacts local SAR folks to send them to your location. There is no way for rescuers to contact the person who activated it so they prepare for a worst-case scenario; hence, why I highly doubt people would be more likely to take bigger risks with it. Maybe it's different if the carrier has an InReach or Spot and can actually communicate with people. Not sure as I have never had one of those. Too expensive for my household.

[renegadepilgrim]

Here's another way to think about it.

Having a Delorme inReach SE is not for me. It's for my family and my friends to know I am okay. Yeah, I like just doing my thing when I am out in the woods and know I am going to make the right choices and not need to hit that SOS button.

However, last fall when I was in Nepal during the blizzard, and my family did not know if I was dead or alive, I realized it was important to have some sort of way to communicate with them to let them know I am okay. I bought an inReach SE and it's proven quite useful, especially when I went back to Nepal to help after the earthquake. I was able to send daily updates, and to reassure them we were okay after the second 7.3 quake hit while we were there. Oh, and Delorme is a top notch company. They gave me a credit towards my next month of service when they saw I was in Nepal helping people. How frickin' cool is that?

So instead of making this all about you, think about your family and friends first. I have inReach SE for them, not me. I don't mind carrying the extra weight either if it gives them peace of mind.

[Lurch]

Does anyone know if phones are trackable through GPS by S & R?

According to this article, they are, and it may be possible for your phone to transmit your location even when it appears that you have no reception. But I'd never count on a cell phone in the backcountry for communication. They can, however, be a good substitute for a dedicated GPS device. I've been using an app lately called MyTrails which is excellent.

"Trackable" is a bit misleading..

Accuracy would depend a lot on your cell carrier, and generally speaking for 'easy' use you will actually need to call 911. They'll also need to 'rebid' the call after a minute or so to get accurate coordinates.

I would not go with the assumption that we can track you down using your cellphone. Actual call ping tracking is time intensive, odds of getting an accurate location are fairly low in wilderness, and generally for things that are potentially criminal in nature. There are a boat load of legal hoops to jump through to actually track someones phone without their consent.

[aiwetir]

Well, all newer smartphones should have excellent location capabilities, my iPhone 6 does a better job than the last 3 dedicated GPS units I've had access to.

If you have coverage you're fine because you can just message your location to someone.

If you are out of coverage, then it's that handshake method from that article. I know the iOS location sharing will usually give the last known location but I don't know how often location services checks in so it might get you on your drive to the trailhead or half way up the trail which is better than having no idea whatsoever.

I purposefully share my location with a few friends in case one of us disappears one day, then maybe someone will notice the phone says they're in a ditch or some canyon somewhere so in that regard, consent to track location is taken care of, you just need your friends to tell SAR where you are.

[Lurch]

You're right, most modern smart phones do have excellent location tracking. And some are even getting away from A-GPS, but those that aren't are drastically hindered or useless in areas without coverage. The "Assistance" in assisted GPS is kind of necessary to be a functional unit, and not all have the ability to transition to S-GPS to work off the grid. Know your gear. You'd be surprised how many people (even "wilderness" folk) can't get coordinates out of their phone.

As for the 'handshake', it's surprisingly un-helpful in most circumstances, unless there isn't even a location to start the search.

Example: There are very few cell towers in the gorge, basically one the Washington side, and one or two in Cascade Locks. Oregon hikers in the gorge are typically using a Washington tower for service. Those 'handshakes' don't transmit location data, it's merely a ping. If we're lucky you may have tapped both towers. Towers have a range of around 20-50ish miles, so we *may* have a huge swath of land that says where you may or may not have been hours/days ago. We may even be lucky enough to know which antenna you hit on the tower, which could in theory narrow it down even further, but that data can be misleading and is not always correct when one signals bounce between or one antenna is picking up for its overloaded neighbor.

There are too many factors, and not enough towers in the wilderness to do 'traditional' cellphone triangulation. By far, the most accurate location we're going to get is when you call 911, and the dispatcher handles it properly.

I'm not saying it's not helpful, or isn't/can't be used. I'm just trying stress that relying on that is foolhardy

[Don Nelsen]

For the past couple of years I've carried a Spot when out alone and after TomRoy's untimely demise I carry it even when out with other hikers. Three family members have the URL link and one TFF and I get calls and e-mails from them often when they see where I am trekking. I also always carry my cell phone - mostly because I do not want to lose it should my car get broken into but, of course, it may be helpful should there be a problem. Usually, I print a map showing my intended route and place it on the passenger seat of my car where it can be easily seen. In over 50 years, I've never had a problem hiking that I couldn't deal with but there's always that first time.

dn

[greenjello85]

Thanks for the info lurch. My phone Gps works very well off grid but I didn't know if s and r folks could track it if needed. This seems like a million dollar app idea if only I knew idea how to make an app maybe backcountry navigator will add that ability someday. I like being able to carry one device for all my needs (gps/camera)

For those that are interested the spot gen 3 is $75 after mail in rebate right now through sportsmen warehouse (probably others as well).

~Dan