[pct-l] Hiking Alone & SPOT

[Sean 'Miner' Nordeen]

Actually, the appeal of going without something like a SPOT is that I can use the excuse that I can't contact anyone until I get to the next town.  Not having to deal with other peoples fears and checking in daily was far more relaxing to my peace of mind then a fear of what if something happens.  And the fact that my cell rarely connects means that work can't get ahold of me is a blessing from God.  That and not having to carry something that is essentially dead weight 99.999% of the time after spending years lighening my pack.  Same reason I rarely carry a GPS since I always have maps and a compass anyway (and I actually check them frequently) so its mostly dead weight to me.

If someone chooses to carry a SPOT/PLB for the rare emergency, then great.  As long as its presence doesn't cause someone to act more careless since they have this device that is going to save them and don't mind the extra weight, then sure carry it.  Though, like GPSs did when they first became prevailent, too many think as long as they have it, they don't need to be as aware of their surroundings and get into trouble that they wouldn't have in the past.

But many hikers that I saw carrying SPOT in 2009, did so only because their family wanted some peace of mind about their trip.  Most grew to hate that half pound brick in their pack (and more then a few had to backtrack to pick it up when they left it out at a break).  In many cases, SPOT actually caused more worry due to the person occasionally missing a day checking in for various reasons and their family freaking out wondering what happened to them.

When they get the weight down even more (SPOT2 was a good move in this direction but it isn't there yet) and the service fees drop dramatically, I suppose I'll give in an get something like it one day just as I did with GPS.  But I suspect that I'll rarely carry it just like I rarely do with my GPS.

-Miner

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Check my 2009 PCT Journal out at http://www.pct2009.lifesadventures.net/Journal.php