[pct-l] Ian...."I'm Fine" GPS phone

[Andrea Dinsmore]

Here is some of the communication between myself and Ian's Mom. I got
permission from her to share it on the PCT-L. It explains some of the after
effects on him and his family. It also tells about the phone with the GPS
in it. Also a message from the SAR folks up here.

Andrea

...............................................

I really would like Ian to work with me and the SAR folks on doing a
presentation for Kick Off each year. If Ian and you can do a video about
his experience and you discuss how the situation effects the family and
friends at home it could be re shown each year. I'm working on getting the
SAR folks to go to Kick Off each year and talk to that year of hikers. They
are clueless as to what they "could" get involved in.

This could save lives in future years.

Big hugs to both of you.

Andrea

....................................................

I would have to run it by Ian first. I agree that he can be very valuable
in getting hikers to be ready for the unexpected and his experience has to
be shared but I need to make sure he is ok to publicly share what I have
shared with you. Thanks for asking. I will get back to you on that.

J

................................................

He got a Motorola Razor Max HD thru Verizon but he said any smart phone w/
GPS should work since they all run on satellite. There doesn't need to be a
phone signal for the GPS to work. He did depend on it on the last leg of
his trip. I have to call Verizon to see if the 911 locator which all smart
phones have will work if the phone is turned off to save battery power. Ian
went to Radio Shack and rigged a charger that runs on reg AA batteries. He
said he was carrying about 3 pounds of batteries when he left Stehekin. He
just wasn't taking any chances. He also packed enough food for a month. He
said he slept one night in a privy that hikers sometimes leave extra things
in like non-perishable foods and fuel and he thought about leaving some
food and then said nope, not taking any chances of running out. We laugh
about parts of it now. He talks alittle more each day about the bad parts.
He said there was at least 6 times where it was a life or death situation
and it just worked out to not be death. He was having dreams about eating
different foods, said he could taste it and then would wake up. Each day we
are eating one of those foods.
J

............................................................

This next message was from the Snohomish Co. SAR folks. They are the ones
who go searching for lost hikers.


You’re so welcome and thank you so much for all that you and your husband
do and did searching for Ian. I’m interested in obtaining more education on
the PCT through hikers and their conference. I would be very pleased to
help in any way I can. I appreciate it that you understand the issues when
someone is lost, overdue, injured or worse out in this vast, rugged
country. The fear, angst, stress to family and friends is beyond my ability
to adequately describe to those who haven’t experienced it. If there was
one piece of equipment I so wish people would carry with them is a personal
locator beacon (PLB) such as an ACR:
http://www.acrartex.com/products/b/outdoor/catalog/personal-locator-beaconsI
know it’s extra weight and it seemingly flies in the face of being
self
reliant and disconnected from civilization –but- when things go terribly
wrong, such as getting off route in a blizzard without food for 5 days
etc., a PLB is one tool that can bring us or people like us right to the
person in need under most conditions. A PLB is just one tool in the tool
box beginning with sound judgment, knowledge, training, physical fitness
etc. but when it goes terribly wrong a PLB can help save the life of the
owner or, perhaps as importantly in the decision making process as to carry
one or not, a through hiker has the ability to call for emergency help when
they come upon another party who is critically ill or injured. I have had
the experience where a hiker came upon (voice contact only) another
critically injured hiker who took a terrible fall on a mountain here. The
hiker did what I think most of us would do and tried to down climb to the
injured party spending a couple of hours trying to get to him. The hiker
had to bail as he couldn’t get to the victim due to the terrain and had to
climb back up to reach the trail, hike down to the trailhead, ride his bike
to the road closure, get his car, drive several miles to a pay phone and
call 911. By the time we got the info and tried to reach the patient it was
dark and we were unable to go in by air. By the time mountain rescue got to
the patient he had died of hypothermia. I’ve often thought about that
incident and how things may’ve turned out radically different if a PLB had
been activated to get SAR into motion while the discovering hiker tried to
reach the subject. Just my two cents, I could be wrong. ****

** **

Thank you,****

** **

Sgt. Danny Wikstrom****

Snohomish Co. Sheriff’s Office****

SAR/Air Support Unit



PCT MOM****