Is Your Backcountry Safety Net A PLB or Cell Phone?

[fgoodwin]

Is Your Backcountry Safety Net A Personal Locator Beacon or Cell Phone?

 

 

http://tinyurl.com/5473y4

 

Posted May 19th, 2008

by Kurt Repanshek

 

Do you skimp on backcountry preparations, figuring you've got your trusty personal locator beacon or cell phone to summon help at a moment's notice? It's tempting, no? Why prepare yourself equipment-wise and possibly skill-wise when help is just a button push away?

 

Curious about the SAR [search and rescue] professional's opinion on these gizmos, I turned to Butch Farabee, who during his 34-year National Park Service career participated in more than 1,000 SARs in such parks as Yosemite, Death Valley, and Grand Canyon, for his thoughts.

 

He'd didn't mince words.

 

"Most SAR people will tell you that this kind of technology is great from their perspective and when it is used appropriately and there is a connection, i.e. the cell phone gets the distress call into 911 or that the cell phone can be traced through the various cell phone towers and related sites, etc. That is the good news," says Mr. Farabee. "The bad news is that all too many people are now believing that all they need to take into 'the field' is their cell phone. Forget the rain gear or matches or whistle or tarp or mirror or checking the local weather forecast or letting someone know when to expect them back and where they were going, etc."

 

[excerpted]

[Gold Winger]

" Tracking your progress, checking in with loved ones, and non-emergency assistance are also available, all at the push of a button."

 

Gee, that's what I want to do. Go into the back country and then check in with loved ones. I go hiking to get away from the world.

 

I can see the utility of these things if you get hopelessly lost, stranded, or injured but otherwise, I want to be out there.

 

 

[le Voyageur]

 

The use of electronics in the backcountry as far as I'm concerned is technology that will fail. They also retard the learning curve in risk management and provide a false sense of security. Better to stay in the front country and developed solid wilderness skills before heading out for the deep woods....

 

 

 

[kenk]

If one is certain that a cell phone could can get a sufficient signal where you are going, then I should help, BUT a 460 Mhz Personal Locator Beacon will provide a MUCH more reliable way of calling for help when things go bad.

 

Here is a very good review/summary of the PLB technology:

http://www.equipped.org/406_beacon_test_background.htm#How

 

As you mention, this also means that those who are heading into the backcountry take appropriate precautions, plan ahead (including letting a reliable person know your plan & expected time of return), bring along gear needed to (1) survive until help arrives, including signaling gear, and have the knowledge & experience to used that gear.

 

Ken

[GernBlansten]

I toyed with the idea of a PLB. Even started a thread here about a year ago on it. But now I've changed my mind. Why? One of the exciting things about going into the wild is the adventure. Not being 100% sure you are gonna make it back. Sharpens the senses. Hones the skills. Gives one pause when faced with challenge.

Would gambling be so entertaining if you knew you had little chance of losing your own money?

 

This new electronic safety net will probably cause people to push the envelope a little more, perhaps too much. Or give under-skilled folk the fortitude to venture when they have no business being.

 

Heck, we are all gonna die someday right? Might as well do it in the wilds instead of the nursing home.

[kenk]

"One of the exciting things about going into the wild is the adventure. Not being 100% sure you are gonna make it back. Sharpens the senses."

 

So do you drive without a seat belt too?

 

With all due respect, I don't buy the argument.

 

I also don't buy the "electronics have no place in backcountry" claim since that is just one step up from thinking that a magnetic compass is a newfangled device. Flashlights have batteries too, but I consider a flashlight a key part of my survival kit.

 

I cherish my life and even more so that of my family members. I choose to be prepared - and equipped - for "whatever".

[Gold Winger]

"So do you drive without a seat belt too?"

 

Gern and I duct tape ourselves into place.

 

 

[GernBlansten]

I wear my seat belt because its there and it makes sense. But if it wasn't there or I knew there wasn't an airbag to keep me from going through the windshield, might make me a more cautious driver.

 

Ever wonder if ejection seats make for more dangerous pilots?

[Gold Winger]

"Ever wonder if ejection seats make for more dangerous pilots?"

 

It is a truism that there are old pilots and bold pilots but very few old, bold pilots.

 

 

[le Voyageur]

So, what happens when the cell phone, or the PLB gets lost, dropped over a clift, or ends up at the bottom of the river?

 

In ye olde days....we had morse code (old school, and out), did lots of map and compass, along with direction finding without compass. Knew how to read a map to locate water, or stay out of places that we didn't belong in. If our flashlights went dead, we made Betty lamps. No matches, flint and steel, or a bow drill got a fire going. A lost knife was no problem, just flake another blade out of stone, we knew how to boil water without a pot, or cook our meal without a pan..

 

Guess it's time to teach meself how to make a cell phones out of tree bark....

 

 

 

[kenk]

Again, with all due respect, I don't buy the arguement.

 

"So, what happens when the XXXX gets lost, dropped over a clift, or ends up at the bottom of the river?"

 

Relace "XXXX" with any other piece of gear - PLB, cell phone, shelter, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stove, pots, matches, knife, compass, map, ...

 

We don't NOT bring gear because we might loose or it might become damaged.

 

Rather, we do our best to secure important gear, and to keep survival gear on our persons rather than in backpacks or lashed to a canoe. For absolutely critical items I plan on reduncancy. For example, I wouldn't head out with just one shelter, stove, or pot. I'd make sure that the group has a second. Still, we gain and maintain the skills to do what we can with what we have. We also make appropriae arrangements before our trip so help comes looking for us if we don't make it home on time.