[pct-l] SPOT lessons learned?
Rick Ostheimer
rick.ostheimer at sbcglobal.net
Mon Jun 8 17:07:27 CDT 2009
It seems to me there are several lessons to be learned from Censored's
experience not just for Censored, but for all SPOT users, the SPOT
organization, and the hiking community in general.
1. The SPOT organization needs to improve their training materials on
how and when to use the device.
2. SPOT users need to communicate with their loved ones just what the
meanings of the "Help" button are. (Perhaps a better use for the help
button is to communicate a cancellation of a previous 911 message.)
They also need to discuss, before their trip, just what the recipients
reaction should be if they omit an "I'm OK" message when they've agreed
to send one every day. This could have avoided a similar SAR mission
near Fuller Ridge on May 7 last year when another hiker failed to
communicate an "I'm OK". Helicopters swooped down on the water fountain
and a deputy sheriff pulled up to us as we were enjoying trail magic
under the I-10 bridge last year looking for Brandon White. Had we seen
him? Of course, we asked his trail name, but the deputy didn't
know---turned out he didn't have on yet, but later became "Hoffa". The
deputy didn't think or know of trail registers. There was one right
there with the trail magic which I checked then showed him an entry by
Brandon W. the day before. Your loved ones are hundreds or thousands of
miles away. They need to know when they should worry. Even if you have
every intention of sending an OK message each day, let me assure you one
day you'll forget to and then what?
3. PCT hikers really need to be aware of the insidious nature of
hypothermia: how it develops, what the signs are, just how debilitating
or deadly it can be, and what they should do when they notice the first
symptoms (stop, get shelter, get into warm clothes, drink/eat something
warm). It's also a good idea to carry a backup to the lighter. I carry
a few waterproof matches.
I carried a SPOT last year since I was starting very early sobo from
Walker Pass and didn't expect to see many hikers. In 14 days I came
across only five or six parties of hikers between there and Cajon
Pass. I figured that if something happened and I wound up with an arm
or leg pinned under an unmovable boulder, it would be preferable to use
the 911 function (I also subscribed to the rescue insurance) to using my
Swiss Army Knife to hack off the pinned hand or foot. I'm glad I had no
emergencies that required the 911. I also used it to communicate with
my wife to let her know I was OK and sent a message faithfully every
day, knowing that, if I didn't, then she might grow concerned and call
in help. Basically, I think it's a good "peace of mind"/insurance
device. If something really bad happens, they will be a way to summon
help. The "Help" function was, to me, useless. It's designed to say to
someone, "Come and help me. I'm not in a life threatening situation,
but I need help." I felt the 911 function was only for truly life
threatening situations. If I pressed it, then search and rescue would
be on the way.
If Censored had been thinking clearly (unlikely, since from her journal,
it seems she was beginning to go into hypothermia even before she
stopped to make camp) she would have realized that the Help message
would only cause worry. Plus she should have communicated what "Help"
meant to those who get that message before it was needed. Apparently
those receiving the "Help" message were an airline flight away. Then
she freaked out and hit the 911, before she was able to calmly assess
her situation. Clearly, she probably didn't have adequate training to
deal with the deteriorating weather conditions and to recognize the
signs of hypothermia. If she had, she would have probably stopped and
made camp the first opportunity after she noticed the temperature
plummeting. She had plenty of gear to keep warm and a tarp and bivy to
keep her dry. A few degrees of temp change by continuing to hike to a
lower elevation in the worsening weather was not worth the risk of
further chilling. Maybe someone could do a presentation on hypothermia
at the kickoff. I don't remember if there was one in '08 or not.
I sympathize with her situation as I had a similar experience on the AT
and another in Jefferson Park on the flanks of Mt. Jefferson in OR last
year. In both cases I was warm enough while I was hiking, but on
stopping, the BTU machine shut down and I started to chill. On the AT I
had been walking all day in a cold rain that turned to freezing rain as
I neared the top of Tray Mtn and the shelter there. I certainly felt
warm enough----until I stopped in a downpour at the overfilled shelter.
By the time I'd fetched my water I was shivering and didn't notice I
still had my rain jacket pit zips open. Fortunately Fiveway told me
about the pit zips and once I started setting up my tent, the effort
warmed me enough. In OR, it had been cold, rainy and windy all day and
was getting colder and had started a steady drizzle. I realized this
was definitely hypothermia weather and started looking for a spot to
camp. I passed Nitro Joe who was setting his tent up on a relatively
"dry" spot on a bed of pine needles protected from the wind by some
small pines. Unfortunately, there was no extra room there so I
continued on another 15 minutes finding another protected, "less wet"
spot under some hemlocks. It's a good thing I stopped then as I wrote
in my journal, "I was beginning to feel hypothermic as the wind picked
up. I was having trouble using my fingers. I didn't realize they were so
cold." I was having trouble grasping the zipper of the tarptent. After
a few minutes in my sleeping bag I was warmed up enough to cook a hot
meal including tea and was warm and toasty.
It irritated me that the SPOT would tell my wife where I was, but had no
digital display to tell me where I was. Somehow that wasn't in their
original product plan. When I got home last fall, I sent them an email
suggesting that "failure to communicate" the location to the holder of
the device was a flaw---especially since with its Li batteries it ways a
full half pound. Interestingly, I received a survey from SPOT which
indicates the second generation of the device may provide a digital display.
The SPOT is designed to communicate a 911 message whether or not it has
a GPS fix and will continue to send 911 messages until it is turned off
once the 911 button is pushed. I'm not sure whether it continues to try
for a better GPS fix while it is continuing to communicate the 911
messages. Fortunately the 911 button is recessed so unlikely to be
accidentally pushed. If it's communicating an inaccurate GPS fix as
described, perhaps the next generation needs to verify satellite
acquisition and also send the number of satellites contacted and
accuracy estimate as displayed by most GPS devices. The SPOT also needs
a better GPS antenna and/or the more sensitive GPS chip set. Mine
doesn't get a fix under heavy tree cover in NW PA.
Obviously, the SPOT response center needs to provide the history of
recent OK message GPS fixes, if there are any, along with the GPS fix of
the 911 message to the SAR folks. All this information should be
readily available in their computer systems. If not, then they too need
reprogrammed. I plan to follow up on this.
The SPOT device requires online activation to enable its functionality.
Perhaps the activation could be designed to show show owners videos to
illustrate the use of the various features and require they are viewed
before registration takes place----via a link from the video to the
registration rather than a button to "Accept the agreement" which nobody
really reads.
Handlebar
Linda wrote:
If the GPS/SPOT is only picking up two satellites (because it hasn't had
time to get more, or there are mountains, trees, heavy precip, or something
else blocking or distorting the signals) it can only pinpoint its location
down to two possible positions. Any GPS needs contact with three
satellites to triangulate it down to one position, and more and/or WAAS to
get you down to less than 10 meter accuracy. So, if you turned SPOT on and
hit the emergency button right away, or didn't have a clear view of enough
satellites, it seems like it could possibly transmit a wrong location.
Maybe this device might be a little bit more useful if it displayed your
coordinates so you could check on your map that it was actually going to be
sending the EMT's to your correct location... and maybe then you wouldn't
even need to call 911.
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