Hey Bill, don't knock it till you've tried it.Originally Posted by Bill Burk
Hey Bill, don't knock it till you've tried it.
An essential in anything remote is a Personal Locating Beacon - should be mandatory in fact. Too many clowns go off into the never-never endangering their own and others' lives. The rescue bill is enormous.
One leg did get a bit banged up, but he managed to get the swelling down by soaking it in cold water. We were still way off trail and had three high passes to get
back over in bad weather. The bigger problem was that he dented the filter thread on one of his Zeiss lenses. I carved some sticky thingy that manged to pry that
out and take filters again. But another expensive Zeiss MF lens went into the drink, and was unusable for the duration - though we got it de-fogged afterwards without having to send it in for service. He's a very experienced climber, but likes to carry his gear rifle-style, over the shoulder - not always a good idea when hopping rocks in a stream. But I can't crow, cause I dunked a light meter the year before that way. I sell miniature rolls of Gorilla tape here. It's what I'll put in the pack this summer.
That may be the case in OZ, or anywhere for that matter, but we have the opposite consequence resulting from PLB use here in our wilderness areas. People over-use them, tripping them for relatively trivial circumstances, from which they could have extricated themselves. Too many clowns are setting their PLBs off unnecessarily. The "rescue" bill is enormous. The remedy is common sense and education. Unfortunately, while education may be cheap, common sense seems to be in very short supply. I don't carry one at this time, probably should, but haven't made that decision yet – insufficient common cents.
I've had several conversations with the backcountry rangers in SEKI over those beacons. In numerous instances, the devices have put people in real danger, simply because rescue personnel and resources are limited, and if they're chasing around trying to rescue someone for some trivial reason, someone else who really needs help might not get it in time. It's a real concern, now that these are proliferating among inexperienced gadget-addicted people. I might like one of those things if I am traveling alone in old age, cause I like going off trail a lot. But there do need to be penalties for those who trigger them irresponsibly, like for simply being worn out and having a leg cramp.
The SEKI situation is what I was referring to, though I couldn't find the article link of a couple years back on the their site that explained their position on the over use of beacons.
Two very specific, one concerning, incidents come to mind for me. One is postulated in The Last Season, a book written a few years back about backcountry ranger Randy Morgensen, whom I knew and shared time with from Yosemite. One of the plausible explanations for his disappearance is that he fell through a snow bridge, and was trapped under the weight of his pack, perhaps drowning immediately, but more disturbing, living for some time trapped under the snow with a broken leg in freezing water before succumbing – possibly days. It is all conjecture, but while I am absolutely certain leaving this earth will be of no consequence to anyone but me, I wouldn't want to linger under like circumstances. While I've since viewed snow bridges a bit differently, I also now see a reason to carry a PLB. (I do hope the NPS now requires rangers to carry, and pays for, them)
Secondly, a friend of my wife's carried a SPOT into the HST one October a few years ago. I was going to do a trip close by at the same time, but postponed it due to incoming inclement weather. He was very experienced. When the probable became possible, and it began snowing, a lot, he became "overdue". His wife called us to ask if she should call the park and gave us his SPOT tracking info on the net. We could see him moving, except for one 24 hour period during the height of the storm – which, was a lot of fun from our warm vantage, I must say. That all seemed perfectly OK to me and rational for an experienced hiker, so I advised against the call for reasons previously discussed. She called anyway a few hours later. She wasn't the first to do so. The NPS couldn't even begin searches until the weather cleared, which it did the next day, by which time our hiker could be seen moving again. He finished his 2 week trip in a couple of feet of snow for awhile. We found out later that he actually broke into an historic patrol cabin in the Big Arroyo to wait out the storm after his summer tent collapsed. One person died, but many others "caught" in the storm simply did the same as our friend and waited it out, continuing their trips. The crux of this is that my wife now wants to track me on my trips (also at Burning Man, but that's yet another story).
I always take the snow bridges in the mornings while they're firm. And I generally carry an ice axe early season. One time I did somehow get one foot stuck in a hole very early season, and that was about as close a call I've ever had. It took a helluva long time to free, and of course reminds one of that poor dude that got his foot trapped behind the Brown Cliffs in the Winds, and wasn't discovered for about another six years. But I am getting more conservative with age, which means not being so adventurous in early season, and often having someone else along on remoter trips - which can be either a pro or con, depending on how experienced they are. I feel pretty unfulfilled on any trip unless I get clear away from trails and other people at some point, the longer the better. But scheduled vacations are about all I can do for now. Almost every year now for awhile I've crossed either rescues or body recoveries. A lot of people get in deep trouble for the silliest reasons, esp dayhikers who don't bother with even a raincoat or sweater in a belt pack. "Gentle Wilderness" or not, the Sierras are still mountains. But
I've encountered the same kind of careless hikers in the Rockies, Cascades, and SW canyon country.
1. Healthy lumbar discs.
2. Camera
3. Tripod
4. Film
5-10. Optional
I have just upgraded my PLB from a Spot to the InReach SE which allows two way email up to 160 characters. When a SOS is triggered the agency can query me about my circumstances and determine the nature of the emergency. This new added level of communication could help eliminate inappropriate SOS events.
Part of the problem of misuse of beacons also lies with the very agencies that are complaining about the problem. I have purchased three different beacons over the years and none of them come with a booklet outlining what constitutes an emergency. I think the SARs and the government need to arrive at some consensus about what constitutes an an SOS event and then publish it and require that all beacons sold are shipped with the booklet. A little education can go a long ways toward alleviating the problem of inappropriate use of an SOS event.
It is clear that both parties are lacking common sense. The agencies for not providing a document outline SOS use, and the user for not exercising good judgement.
But back to *my* needs...
I'm going to try soloing the John Muir Trail from Yosemite to Whitney in the first 3 weeks of September. I don't have Drew's strength or tolerance of discomfort, so I could use some safety/comfort vs weight guidance from people who have spent time there.
1. How serious of a tent is *typically* needed that time of year? Hilleberg double-wall, NEMO single-wall, or a Hefty bag?
2. Given a down-filled inflatable sleeping pad (R ~ 6) and me being a side-sleeper, what level of sleep gear is smart? FeatheredFriends 10deg semi-rectangular, some sort of quilt + jacket + hat, or a hefty bag full of dryer lint?
3. Sigma DP3 Merrill and stitching software and a Hefty bag of batteries, or my Mamiya 7 and a Hefty bag full of 120?
BTW, I expect to take a DeLorme and top-notch gear, and have 4 bail-out points arranged.
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