This article/topic has worked its way out of the backcountry discussion circle into the mainstream media, as it was a featured NPR topic, tonight. As a solo hiker/Bp'r who carries a SPOT, I am finding myself to be even more diligent in my planning since this story broke, as I don't want to even consider the "mommy button" (love this) to be an option. This last summer,I found myself in the middle of a situation where one of the hikers in our group was suffering severe AMS(delirious), hypoxia(blue around the mouth, face, hands),& dehydration(from vomiting)while another hiker had SPOT, I think we were all stymied by "how bad IS bad enough for 911". Eventually, the hiker was stabilized by my force-feeding schedule of Gatorade/water; however, the period between delirium and stability was a long, scary period of time that could have ended very differently. Every so often I ask "should we have pressed the button?" It's easy to say "no" when I know the results. I hope to never be placed in that position again.
(BTW, there were much in the way of mistakes and bad judgement that allowed for the situation to escalate that the point that it did, however, my point of interest still lies with the "how bad is bad enough")
B
B - I wish I was a POC on that help button - I would have come in and taken her out. Bummer about how that whole deal went down and the DRAMA that came of it.
Anyway - bad enough to me is the same as before I had the SPOT - Can I possibly get myself out? Will I die out here or be disabled if I don't get some attention quick? I got pretty sick on my big hike this year and came out 14 hours late. I NEVER thought of pushing the button because I could still move - just slowly and everything sucked. What made the SPOT worth the money was the tracking feature and the HELP button. My wife knew "about" where I was (SPOT is a lil wanky sometimes) and I set the HELP message to say "Running Behind". She knows the is nothing to worry about as long as I don't hit 911 - no matter how late I am.
Some people run into problems because they don't explain to the folks at home that there may be times that a message doesn't get out. The tracking may be off by miles. If you make that clear and understand it yourself, the SPOT is a very useful tool.
If the time comes that I push the button - they better bring a helo cuz I'm gonna need it..........................DUG
