View Full Version : Time to buy this hiker a SPOT?
Shutterbug
03-21-2010, 16:49
How many time should a hiker be able to be rescued before she is required to carry a SPOT?
This hiker in Idaho has now been rescued three times. I think she should not be allowed in the woods again unless she has a SPOT. I am not suggesting a need for more laws -- just a family that uses common sense.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=12175326
envirodiver
03-21-2010, 17:01
How many time should a hiker be able to be rescued before she is required to carry a SPOT?
This hiker in Idaho has now been rescued three times. I think she should not be allowed in the woods again unless she has a SPOT. I am not suggesting a need for more laws -- just a family that uses common sense.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=12175326
At 66 it makes you wonder if there may be some mental issue that causes her to lose her way.
trailangelbronco
03-21-2010, 17:19
As an Idaho resident I can tell you that this fine state is a pretty remote wilderness area. Some caution most be used when heading out alone anywhere, but especially here.
This woman needs to hang her boots.
Shutterbug
03-21-2010, 18:16
At 66 it makes you wonder if there may be some mental issue that causes her to lose her way.
66 isn't old. I know lots of hikers older than I am who have never had to be rescued.
When you see that someone is 66, think, "They finally have time to hike."
Slosteppin
03-21-2010, 18:40
At 66 it makes you wonder if there may be some mental issue that causes her to lose her way.
Mental issues can start at any age. If there is one it is probably that she dosen't know how to navigate and has not been willing to learn the skills.
If you are implying that 66 is old I must disagree. Most people I hike with are 66 and older. We have the time to hike and build trails.
I've never needed rescue. Like D Boone said; "I've been bewildered but I've never been lost."
I think a Spot would lead to more rescues. What she needs is a good GPS and willingness to learn.
Shutterbug
03-21-2010, 19:16
I think a Spot would lead to more rescues. What she needs is a good GPS and willingness to learn.
I don't disagree; however, here in Washington there have been a number of people who have had GPS units and still had to be rescued. If a person gets confused, a GPS probably won't clear up their confusion.
If a person has to be rescued, a SPOT makes the rescue a lot faster and less expensive. Perhaps this hiker needs both a GPS unit and a SPOT.
envirodiver
03-21-2010, 19:33
66 isn't old. I know lots of hikers older than I am who have never had to be rescued.
When you see that someone is 66, think, "They finally have time to hike."
Mental issues can start at any age. If there is one it is probably that she dosen't know how to navigate and has not been willing to learn the skills.
If you are implying that 66 is old I must disagree. Most people I hike with are 66 and older. We have the time to hike and build trails.
I've never needed rescue. Like D Boone said; "I've been bewildered but I've never been lost."
I think a Spot would lead to more rescues. What she needs is a good GPS and willingness to learn.
I'm not poking at anyone that is over x number of years in age, but you have to admit that different types of dementia can start occurring at this age. Not with everyone, but rarely do you have those types of mental issues in young people. Maybe lack of knowledge or many other things, but rarely dementia that is age related.
I was merely throwing that out as a possibility. With recurring instances of getting disorriented and/or lost it is a possibility.
Jim Adams
03-21-2010, 20:12
I would say there are only 2 answers.
1. Make it illegal for anyone over 65 to go hiking. OR
2. Don't worry about it as it is no one elses business.
geek
daibutsu
03-21-2010, 20:37
FYI, operationally among we hiking types, this SPOT thing ain't all it's cracked up to be; It is ok for biking, but lackluster and unreliable in any tree cover.
I do both riding and hiking, even on Fall ridgeline BP trips, the coverage is poor. It is good on the open road with no tree cover. Before you buy one, call their customer service, you'll see probably more effort in the selling and less in the CS. The new model has already been recalled, IMO there is something untoward about spot.
beakerman
03-22-2010, 01:25
I would say there are only 2 answers.
1. Make it illegal for anyone over 65 to go hiking. OR
2. Don't worry about it as it is no one elses business.
geek
I agree with #2 her except that someone is paying to pick her up from the woods each time.
She may have a mental health issue as stated before or she may just be like a buddy of mine and severely directionally impaired. Either way she should have a hiking buddy to prevent any further problems.
How many time should a hiker be able to be rescued before she is required to carry a SPOT?
This hiker in Idaho has now been rescued three times. I think she should not be allowed in the woods again unless she has a SPOT. I am not suggesting a need for more laws -- just a family that uses common sense.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=12175326
How is a SPOT going to keep her from needing to be rescued? It doesn't sound like they have trouble finding her, which is what a SPOT is for.
She needs not to be rescued at all...
It also depends on what she's doing... Is she bushwacking or getting lost on a well blazed trail?
After reading the story, I thought, maybe, she's trying to "get on the ice floe, but, can't manage to find the ice?":-?
Guy Waterman, the author of the definitive history of the New England Mountains, and a highly praised book on hiking ethics, one winter in his 60s dressed scantily, walked to the summit ridge on the Crawford Path, sat down and quietly froze to death. There's a foundation dedicated to trail matters in his memory.
He apparently deliberately chose this manner to exit this life.
Since it's been almost 15 years since I was 66, I can increasingly understand his decision. Having watched the slow wasting away, the pain, the helplessness, and the suffering of some old people, I can understand the desire at some point for a gentler way out. However, I'm also opposed to littering. And Guy's decision made him the ultimate litterer.
Weary
However, I'm also opposed to littering. And Guy's decision made him the ultimate litterer.
If they had just left him there it would be more like recycling than littering. :)
Enjoy reading your posts Weary!
The Old Fhart
03-22-2010, 17:44
weary-"Guy Waterman, the author of the definitive history of the New England Mountains, and a highly praised book on hiking ethics, one winter in his 60s dressed scantily, walked to the summit ridge on the Crawford Path, sat down and quietly froze to death."Actually Waterman climbed to the top of Mount Lafayette (5,249ft) in Franconia Notch (not the Crawford Path out of Crawford Notch) and sat down to die in below-zero temperatures.
I would say there are only 2 answers.
1. Make it illegal for anyone over 65 to go hiking. OR
2. Don't worry about it as it is no one elses business.
geek
What about:
3. After you personally have been rescued more than one time, you will be billed for every subsequent rescue. If the rescue involves a search, and you have not brought a working locator, you will be fined not less than $5,000.00 plus the cost of the rescue itself.
Guy Waterman, the author of the definitive history of the New England Mountains, and a highly praised book on hiking ethics, one winter in his 60s dressed scantily, walked to the summit ridge on the Crawford Path, sat down and quietly froze to death. There's a foundation dedicated to trail matters in his memory.
He apparently deliberately chose this manner to exit this life.
Since it's been almost 15 years since I was 66, I can increasingly understand his decision. Having watched the slow wasting away, the pain, the helplessness, and the suffering of some old people, I can understand the desire at some point for a gentler way out. However, I'm also opposed to littering. And Guy's decision made him the ultimate litterer.
Weary
I read a book about him years ago. Good Morning Midnight I think it was called, very interesting stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
boarstone
03-22-2010, 18:06
..dementia...
Actually Waterman climbed to the top of Mount Lafayette (5,249ft) in Franconia Notch (not the Crawford Path out of Crawford Notch) and sat down to die in below-zero temperatures.
Good enough spot. Must have been part Inuit.
I can think of a couple good spots, but how to compensate the people that have to drag away the carcass...
Jim Adams
03-23-2010, 15:41
What about:
3. After you personally have been rescued more than one time, you will be billed for every subsequent rescue. If the rescue involves a search, and you have not brought a working locator, you will be fined not less than $5,000.00 plus the cost of the rescue itself.
Very good!
geek
Good enough spot. Must have been part Inuit.
I can think of a couple good spots, but how to compensate the people that have to drag away the carcass...
Just climb in a hole or under a rock(off trail of course), plenty of them out there in the Mtns., no carcass dragging necessary. Quite a few have disappeared in the whites.
If you do want to be found and dragged out, attach envelope to self with note and with $$$ for the dragger s.