Mile Lazzari posted about a Search and Rescue mission that had a bad
ending. Every time I read about one of these tragedies I'm reminded of a
story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune a few years ago after two women who
became lost, and died, at Craters of the Moon NP. Fatal outcomes like this
are so unnecessary--this is the 21st century, and there are hundreds of
satellites orbiting the earth, and the appropriate satellites are easily
accessed by an inexpensive (under $100) satellite messenger unit. I have
one made by SPOT LLC (www.findmespot.com/en/), and I have it with me
whenever I'm out in the wilds alone. Turn it on, press a button, and an
"I'm safe" message is sent as an email to my wife and two daughters, with
my GPS coordinates and location on Google Earth as a link. This October my
wife and I hiked to the highest point in Minnesota, and I let our kids know
where we were. See (click on satellite image and zoom in): <
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=47.97470,-
89.75928&ll=47.97470,-89.75928&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=47.97470,-89.75928&ll=47.97470,-89.75928&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1>>.
I'm standing just north of the base of a fire tower. The marker of my
location on the link is within 15', or less, of where I remember standing
when I pressed that "check in" button. But if I had been alone, and had
fallen and broken a leg, and needed help desperately, I could have pushed
the "SOS" button and had my location sent to the "GEOS International
Emergency Response Coordination Center [which would provide my] GPS
coordinates and information to local response teams."
I'm out in the wilds a good deal, usually alone, and this SPOT
satellite messenger is on my belt constantly. Like seat belts and air bags
in ones car, the hope is that it will never be needed. But if it is, its
accuracy in pinpointing the user's location is amazing. Consider getting
one if you're out in the great outdoors, hiking, photographing, hunting,
whatever. The young hiker Mike mentioned could well have been found alive
if he had had one of these inexpensive units.
Dean
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