[pct-l] SPOT vs Cell info.

[Edward Anderson]

I brought both a SPOT and a regular cell phone with AT&T service on my PCT rides 
in 2008 & 2009.

Early in 2008 my local SPOT representative gave me a SPOT for free.  In return I 
only had to check in with an "OK." message every night when I reached camp.  
They also gave one to ZACK, the 17 year old young man who sailed a boat around 
the world. His location and mine both appeared on the website along with a 
picture and a short description of our journeys. Followers could "see where Ed 
is now".

I found the SPOT to be dead reliable in that all of my messages got through to 
my "team", which included SPOT, my wife and eight others. It certainly gave my 
wife real peace of mind to know that I was OK every day. I still have a record 
of all of the GPS locations showing, by satellite pictures, each camp. 


To send a signal it is recommended that you place the SPOT horizontally for 20 
minutes with a clear sky above.  I did not always have a completely clear 
sky; sometimes there were a few small branches above - but the signal always got 
through. And I could tell by the lights when the message was successfully sent. 

While on the hiker detour of Section K in Washington I used the OK signal as 
well as the tracker mode effectively to let an Angel follow my progress north of 
Stevens Pass and down Indian Creek so she could pick Primo and I up at the White 
River TH and trailer us around the Little Giant part to the Buck Creek TH.  The 
Little Giant was notoriously dangerous to horses.  A woman who was bold enough 
to try it not long after we passed through that Section killed both of her 
horses when they fell several hundred feet.

My cell phone seldom worked for me - but when I had service, being able to call 
my wife made it worth having brought it.

MendoRider/Ed Anderson