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

[Greg Hummel]

This could be a good presentation at the kickoff, however we need to be sensitive to not scare the aspiring hikers with all of the possibilities of poor judgements. Carrying 3 pounds of batteries and a month's worth of food would make for a really heavy pack and sounds like Ian wasn't used to making good decisions on his own out there. Most thru-hikers by the time they get to Washington are used to making good decisions and have made all of the bad ones into "experience" and "wisdom".  


I've maintained, ever since thru-hiking 35 years ago, that dangerous, critical situations are often caused by "incremental stupidity"; one poor decision with consequences that don't look too serious, are followed by another and another and another until the consequences have piled upon each other and suddenly you find yourself in real danger and looking back you think "I didn't really make any serious mistakes to get me here". I'm not immune to this and have gotten myself into several such situations this way!


I'm not criticizing Ian's judgement or decisions, merely suggesting that using him as an analog of what can go wrong, may not fit the typical thru-hiker or significant section hiker's profile.


Lots of things can go wrong out there; ticks, giardia, bears, mountain lions, poison oak, etc., etc. We, the ADZPCTKO, make a good faith effort to educate each year, but your own education, cool head and common sense are your best ally out there.


Greg Hummel



"If you were born blind, a butterfly would be a fairy, a flower a miracle, a tree infinity. . . and thunder- GOD!"- GNH 



-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Dinsmore <andrea at dinsmoreshikerhaven.com>
To: PCT-L <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Cc: Wikstrom, Daniel <danny.wikstrom at co.snohomish.wa.us>
Sent: Mon, Nov 19, 2012 8:13 am
Subject: Ian...."I'm Fine" GPS phone


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
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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
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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
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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
 
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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-beacons  I 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