What's your Off-Road, hiking emergency plan

[jicko]

ABSOLUTE DIRE EMERGENCY

ACR 406 Personal Locator Beacon (under $300, great investment, will trigger SAR via satellite with your GPS location, and also beacon them to you), keep it in your car, and if you hike, keep it on you:
https://www.acrartex.com/products/outdoor/#1122

Now, the non-dire situations
- VHF/UHF radio (open rx/tx)
> will try on HAM freq first
> then FRS/GMRS freq (REAL emergency)
> then MURS freq (REAL emergency)


Oh, I do carry a MS2000 strobe too.

 

[JeremyB]

I don't rely on GPS. The batteries will die when you need it, and hiking GPSes have not kept up with other technology. They are selling the same outdated hardware, and one day you won't be able to get maps for them. Paper maps are much better if you learn how to use them. The only time GPS is better than maps is in white-out conditions, but I try not to hike in that anyway.

I like to use my GPS as primary navigation with compass and paper maps as backup. I'm sure there will be a day you can't get maps for a current GPS, but the hardware will be outdated by that point anyway - just how electronics work. I don't mind paying a bit for ease of use (and I enjoy geeking on the tracking data).

I have a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). It's basically a commercial grade SPOT. It's much better than a SPOT (or any similar consumer device) for a few reasons, which I'll explain. The only downside is that it's not good for "I'm OK" type messages, but I don't need that anyway.

PLBs transmit 5 watts of power to government run weather satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). SPOTs transmit only 0.4W, and they rely on commercial communications satellites (also LEO, I think) and GPS satellites (Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)). I think some SPOT competitors transmit to geostationary orbit (GEO), which is much farther away but I'm not sure. Closer is better when you have a limited amount of power.

The main SPOT competitor is DeLorme's inReach, which uses the Irridium constellation. They orbit in LEO as does the Globalstar constellation, which SPOT uses.

The inReach uses 1.6W of power for SOS and has 2-way communication ability. Most basic yearly plan runs $160 and costs you for every tracking point or ping you use! Unlimited tracking (similar to SPOT 3 $150/yr service) is $320. Ouch.

SPOT only has one way of finding you. If GPS doesn't work, you won't be found unless someone knows about your plans.

With the tracking feature, officials can get close to you. But even with a 5 minute track spacing you can be >1000 ft away if hiking at 2.5mph.

PLBs are a bit more expensive upfront, but there's no subscription fee. The battery is good for 5 years, but it has to be replaced by the manufacturer (for $$$) after that. You never have to worry about whether it's charged as long as you don't test it more than the rated number of times.

An ACR ResQLink is ~$280. Spot 3 is ~$150. Spot 3 requires a $150/yr subscription to function, so the ACR PLB will break even with the Spot 3 after 1 year. ACR PLB battery replacement looks to be around $100-120.

 

[Jhalko]

I dont have the recovery skills or knowledge so I dont take my truck places I cant easily get help in it alone. But I do a ridiculous amount of solo mtn biking very deep in the mtns, some backpacking here and there as well. For me the Spot is perfect, especially helpful for my worrisome spouse. In addition to always having a way to make fire and purify water I figure if the Spot fails (I replace battery annually) i can make shelter and stay warm. I dont bother telling my wife where Ill be, on real trips I text my three buddies, partly gloating and they all know their way around the mtns if need be, one is fire and rescue anyway.

I prefer "paper" maps to gps personally as well. I will probabaly get a PLB as well for winter as Im getting tired of the crowds on the ski slopes.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I've been in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains my whole life and it really is just common sense.

If you get stranded in your vehicle, NEVER leave it.

If you are traveling in cold weather always have a candle and a blanket.

Always know how to start fire with nothing but wood.

Understand that a Bobcat can sneak up on you almost silently.

A good compass lasts forever. A GPS (while a great tool) will die after a bit and you are screwed if you don't understand the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

A river ALWAYS leads to people.

Carry a .357 Magnum on you. My little Talo Special S&W will fit in my pocket and packs enough punch to stop anything short of a grizzly and even he might think twice after 5 loads.

 

[m85476585]

I prefer "paper" maps to gps personally as well. I will probabaly get a PLB as well for winter as Im getting tired of the crowds on the ski slopes.

Note that a PLB is not an avalanche beacon. If you are buried in an avalanche you only have a short time for your friends to find you using avalanche beacons and dig you out. You are also most likely injured, in which case the PLB might come in handy, too. I always have both on me in the winter.

If anyone out there spends a lot of time in the backcountry, I highly recommend taking a Wilderness First Aid course. It's a two day course (usually Saturday and Sunday) that will teach you all kinds of things about how to treat injuries in the field, what you need in a first aid kit and how to use it, and how to improvise anything. I went to a highly ranked university, but I learned more in the two day WFA class than any of the semester long classes I took. I took it through SOLO Southeast, and I highly recommend them. It was a lot of fun, too!

 

[cbielat]

I'd probably end up dying.

 

[jicko]

I'd probably end up dying.

Do you prefer dying or $280?

Get a PLB!

 

[m85476585]

Do you prefer dying or $280?

Get a PLB!

It's basically a button to call a helicopter to you anywhere in the world.

Note that "most Search-and-Rescue (SAR) organizations instruct that beacons are satellite signaling devices of last resort, for use when all other means of self-rescue have been exhausted, where the situation is grave with imminent danger and the loss of life, limb, eyesight or valuable property will occur without assistance."

 

[Bevo]

I've been in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains my whole life and it really is just common sense.

If you get stranded in your vehicle, NEVER leave it.

If you are traveling in cold weather always have a candle and a blanket.

Always know how to start fire with nothing but wood.

Understand that a Bobcat can sneak up on you almost silently.

A good compass lasts forever. A GPS (while a great tool) will die after a bit and you are screwed if you don't understand the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

A river ALWAYS leads to people.

Carry a .357 Magnum on you. My little Talo Special S&W will fit in my pocket and packs enough punch to stop anything short of a grizzly and even he might think twice after 5 loads.

Good advice for the most part, but I don't think you need to worry about bobcats.
They aren't exactly man-eaters.