[pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB

[Edward Anderson]

Hey John, Try to calm down and think about this: The SPOT only became available 
for the 2008 season and I met very few hikers who had even heard of it 
then. When I rode north from the border in 2008 I had one of the first. By 2009 
& 2010 an increasing percentage of hikers had one. Are you someone who will 
bring absolutely no electronic technology on the PCT? If that is so its OK. If 
you are unlucky and the unexpected happens to you, and you are badly 
injured, perhaps you will be lucky when someone with a SPOT sends out a 
911 message to rescue you. 

When I was young I was indestructible. I usually hiked and climbed alone. I 
have lost count of how many mountains I have climbed and how many miles I have 
walked. I have kept a fairly good record of the miles I have ridden. The total, 
in the past 28 years, when I first started riding, is now over 46,000 miles. I 
have never had to be rescued. But, I now realize that I'm not indestructible.  I 
bring along not only a SPOT, but also, while riding, I carry a knapsack with 
everything that I would need to survive if I had an accident and I was separated 
from my horse. In Washington, in 2009, a woman lost both of her horses. On the 
Little Giant detour of the PCT they fell several hundred feet off the trail. 
Both were killed. She, foolishly, had nothing on her person but the cloths she 
was wearing - not even water. She did have a SPOT - but it was on one of the 
horses. She had been leading when this happened and was not injured. She was 
able, with great difficulty, to climb down and use the 911 button. She was 
rescued by helicopter. It is interesting that, as she climbed down, near the 
top. she found things that were not hers. It turned out that a HIKER had fallen 
at that same exact spot a day or two before. He broke his neck and ended his 
hike in the hospital. The unexpected does sometimes happen. 
The main reason that I carry a SPOT is that it matters to me - it is very 
important to me - that my dear wife have peace of mind.

MendoRider


________________________________
From: John Abela <pacificcresttrail2011 at gmail.com>
To: enyapjr at comcast.net
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Sun, March 27, 2011 11:43:59 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB

On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 11:12 AM,  <enyapjr at comcast.net> wrote:
>> ...only a fool would not bring one, or some other reliable rescue signaling 
>>device.

So the thousands upon thousands of people who have hiked the PCT, the
AT, the CT and dozens of other trails around the world who have not
carried a device are nothing but a bunch of fools. WoW!
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/