personal locator beacon
Anybody ever carry a personal locator beacon when hiking solo on the AT? If so, what brand? If not, why not? Thanks.
I don't carry one because the AT isn't all that hard (well blazed, terrain isn't technically difficult), has far too many people on it and isn't all that remote.
Originally Posted by wahootom
Who can afford one of these?!?!?
What's the price range? How big are they?
Never mind, I found out enough info; my life isn't worth that much.
http://www.rei.com/product/47799529.htm
If you have one, make sure to padlock it around your neck.
I have seen them for as little as 150 bucks, but you have to pay a monthly monitoring fee. The one I am thinking of (can't think of the name right now) is kind of cool, because you can locate it on the internet. People at home could follow your progress whily you thru!
Stumpy
You can never go wrong with butter or bacon!!!!
check out this one, I'll be carrying it
http://www.rei.com/product/766529
Just bring a marine whistle..... that'll be loud enough to hear from anywhere you could get lost along the trail. It takes no batteries and weighs nothing.
I'll have to admit, that's pretty cool.
Do you have any experience with it? I am looking at buying it. I like the "I'm ok" option and the "help from home" giving it a help option not involving helicopters and dog teams. The I'm ok gives the home team your location and lets them know you are still ok. It has only been around since Nov and I haven't been able to find a review involving a lot of use. There was some talk of problems with tree canopy. Probibly the same in PLB's and GPS. Something to consider too is the company makes it known this is not a PLB but a messenger. It is getting a lot of talk in long distance motorcycle touring groups too.
It completly depends on the time of year on whether or not you will see people. Unless you are out at peak seaon, you can go quite awhile without seeing anyone. I was signing in registers as the only person there in 3 or 4 days, and I also knew there was not anyone close behind. My record was 4 days alone with only seeing 1 person driving in their car at a road crossing. There were a lot of stretches where the only people I saw were the people I was hiking with. I don't put any faith in the sit and someone will come along mentaility. Cell phone service is also way too spotty to depend on.
You could just get a cell phone, You can just about get a signal anywhere on the AT. I would not have one because I go on the trail to get away from all that. But one of my favorite sayings is "hike your own hike".
My Verizon phone didn't work in Damasucs, or from there to Ewrin, large parts of the Smokies, any gap I was in, large parts of TN and VA, around Hot Springs. I remember going almost 2 weeks without getting a good signal when I tried it (I didn't make it a point to try everywhere, just when I was stopped or the night or in town or on a long break). I would be very hesitante to say it works anywhere other than some peaks. I did get service in other places depending on the terrain and the closeness to a city.
I don't think the AT is remote enough to bother. However, if you ever set one of those things off by accident, the advice goes that you'd better jump off a cliff, because the rescue team that comes out is going to throw you off of one if they find you unhurt.
While the AT is not real remote, if you fall off a cliff and are lying at the bottom of a 100 foot hill with broken bones and bleeding can feel as remote as anyplace on earth. $500.00 for a good one of these is a good chunk of money, but then it could save your life.
I don’t have one yet, but I would like to get one this summer.
If I were to carry one, right now it would be the SPOT. Like others have said, it is not needed on the AT. IMO, it IS something I would carry on the CDT.
For the AT the SPOT would just be a gadget for electronics freaks (like me) who could have folks at home following your progress via the net. On the AT I look at it as more of a toy. On the CDT I would look at it as a safety net.
You definitely don't need one on the AT. My advice is don't bet your life on anything with batteries.
Granted, my experience is from 2003 and the quality and accuracy of them have probably improved, but the most common use of a PLB then was to find the body. If you really need it in a remote area, that is likely the only thing it will be good for.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
I don’t know that I would say it’s not needed on the AT.
About 4-years ago a 70-year old lady never showed up at home one evening from a night at her friends home. Her husband called the police a few hours after she was due home. It started a 2-week quest to find her and her car. The police felt sure foul-play was the reason. A kid walking down the street saw a car that ran off the road and into the trees (only 30 feet off the road.) It turns out she had a mild stroke and ran off the road and lived for several days before she died. This is a main road with thousands of cars going by this spot every day, it was only about 2-miles from a mall. I drive by there almost every day. It’s in a area that houses are only 100-yards from the spot she ran off the road. If it can happen in a city, it can certainly happen to you on the trail. The $150.00 PLB looks like it would be worth having and while we hope we never need it, it sure would be nice to have if you do slip down that hill.
Have you checked the monitoring fees on this one? YOu'd better be doing some serious backpacking, like a thru, to justify this thing at my house.
I didn’t look at the web site for it till you posted that. The regular ones are looking better. I just did a search for them on e-bay and the range is $3.00 and up. I would rather spend a little more now then to keep having to send them $100.00 every year.
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