Nicely said Jonathan. A couple a friends who thru hiked a few years back happened to offer me their device and I'll be carrying an SPOT messenger. Knowing that my parents (mostly mom) can be worry worts to a disturbing level, it's a nice gizmo to carry NOT necessarily that if something horrible goes wrong I can hit 9-1-1, but to allow them to interact with my hike as they( dad in this case) could only dream of doing this journey. It's my third thru hike, AT, PCT in the previous years and hiking solo, and for worrying folks, they are always going to worry. But just seeing an email pop up every so often is fun for them. They engage in my hike, they engage in other's hikes, they spread the story and image of these trails, they donate to these trail organizations, they talk to other hikers along the trail near Warwick, NY (where I grew up and they still live) and bring in some snacks all while they can't or won't be the one actually hiking. If it wasn't for interactivity I don't think these trails would be where they are today. When I'm on trail I become immersed in wilderness when the time allows, as well as just being immersed in the surroundings that I happen to be in at any given time, even with a touch of a button. On the AT I didn't do much sharing, the PCT I shared after the hike, now with so many requests to know the details of a thru hike I figure I'l share it all.<div>
<br><div>-mary</div><div>aka Speedstick</div><div><div><br>-- <br><div><font color="#666666"><i>To find out more about Mary and her upcoming hike along the 3,100 mile long Continental Divide Trail please go to</i>: </font><font><font color="#3366FF"><a href="http://www.marriedtothetrail.com" target="_blank">www.marriedtothetrail.com</a></font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3366FF"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3366FF"><br></font></div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Apr 3, 2011 at 9:16 PM, Jonathan Ley <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jonathan@phlumf.com">jonathan@phlumf.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">I think you have to set guidelines with your family/friends before you<br>
leave to address just these instances. I would think that unless you<br>
active the "help button", or didn't check in for many days past your due<br>
date, they would just understand you're OK.<br>
<br>
I suppose everyone is in a different situation... if you have a medical<br>
issue that raises your risk level, or are a bit older... perhaps<br>
something like a SPOT would be a reasonable trade-off... Yes, not quite<br>
the same as being fully immersed in Wilderness, but better than the<br>
alternatives. Everyone's limits of technological intervention are<br>
different. I mean, silicon-impregnated nylon is pretty un-natural... And<br>
when you think about what it takes to refine just a few ounces of camp<br>
fuel, it's a bit boggling. I know these are a bit different than having<br>
an immediate tether via satellite to the outside world, but to someone<br>
like Jim Bridger, they'd probably seem like a lot of unnecessary fluff.<br>
So, I guess we all have to just make our own bargains & hike our own<br>
hikes...<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
-Jonathan<br>
</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
On 4/1/2011 4:29 PM, david booth wrote:<br>
> Technology allows us to post daily updates but is this necessarily a<br>
> good thing?<br>
> What does the family do if there is no report on a particular day? Do<br>
> they worry?<br>
> Do they contact SAR? Is it because of a technology malfunction, no<br>
> signal, low battery? Is it due to the hiker forgetting to signal each<br>
> day? What action should they take if they see you ten miles off<br>
> course? What did families do before these technical wonders were<br>
> invented? How did they ever cope?<br>
> I admit I love my GPS, it allows me to make less navigational errors<br>
> and is a tool to augment map and compass. But I would never want to<br>
> report my position each day. This would limit my wilderness<br>
> experience, part of which is leaving behind the trappings of<br>
> civilization for a while and not be causing my family undue worry and<br>
> anxiety.<br>
> My family has learned to have confidence in my wilderness skills and<br>
> experience and understand that for whatever reason schedules may vary<br>
> during a hike according to many factors.<br>
> Aussie Dave<br>
> Canberra Australia<br>
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