Missing hunters in Colorado

RIP.

Hopefully one silver lining is that many of us will rethink our plans. I have carried an inReach Mini even when deer hunting. Sometimes it's because cell reception is spotty. Even when cell coverage may be fine, I'm rethinking whether to add the PLB, and upgrading my beloved iPhone 13 Mini to a newer model that also has satellite capabilities.
 
A note on inReach and coupling it with a watch and cycling computers. Many of the Garmin Edge cycling computers and many Garmin watches have a widget available that syncs with your inReach so you can remotely send messages or trigger an SOS from those devices. Might be a good thing to have setup if you carry the inReach in your pack and hurt yourself making it difficult to get it out of the pack. Might be easier to get to the widget and trigger it. My Edge is setup this way.
 
24valve said:
My understanding is that none of the SAR teams in WY charge for their services, and many in CO are the same. They are volunteer organizations, some of which are set up as 501c3 non-profits, and are funded by a variety of sources. The SAR donation found on WY licenses go to the State SAR budget, which is used to reimburse SAR teams across the state for mission expenses, but is by no means a prerequisite for free services.

The exception to this would be if you require a life flight or ambulance ride to a hospital and are administered medical treatment on the ride, at which point it would be the same as if you needed one in town and will be charged by the EMS company accordingly.
Click to expand...

I commented earlier about my hunting friend getting lost and we brought SAR in to find him. He left for a short hunt at daylight, nothing but a lighter and a pack of smokes; no pack, no extra clothes, no survival stuff. It started raining soon after he left, then started snowing. Rained and snowed all night too.
Next morning I knew he was in trouble and we called authorities. Forest service showed up and eventually used his radio to contact SAR. I can tell you that the person on the other end of the radio call, sheriff or head of SAR I assume, really didn't want to get involved, himmed and hawed for a few minutes but relented when he got pushed, but, stated quite clearly, "the helicopter is $700 an hour, who's going to pay for it", and wouldn't send it till somebody ponied up.
They billed Gale somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 for his own rescue, never mind the SAR guy I was in the chopper with told me he would have died later that day had we not found him. He had hypothermia pretty bad; I've seen a few dead people in my life but this was the first time I saw one mumble a few words. I'll never forget that. After that day, I and anybody I hunt with carries gear to get thru a cpl nights of bad weather.
This was Idaho in the early 80's.
 
BBob said:
A note on inReach and coupling it with a watch and cycling computers. Many of the Garmin Edge cycling computers and many Garmin watches have a widget available that syncs with your inReach so you can remotely send messages or trigger an SOS from those devices. Might be a good thing to have setup if you carry the inReach in your pack and hurt yourself making it difficult to get it out of the pack. Might be easier to get to the widget and trigger it. My Edge is setup this way.
Click to expand...

Also worth noting that the bluetooth connection from inReach to watch will impact battery life pretty significantly.
 
fwafwow said:
Hopefully one silver lining is that many of us will rethink our plans.
Click to expand...
Exactly. As the saying goes, "Out of everything bad comes something good." Due to this tragedy, a bunch of hunters will be better prepared for unforeseen circumstances while afield. These two paid the ultimate sacrifice, and their story will save the lives of others.
 
As someone who worked in and around the world of mountain and backcountry SAR for close to 2 decades, in my experience, 2-way communication is invaluable, I'd say mandatory, for any sort of emergency communication device and plan.

PLB's make a nice compliment to InReach/Zoleo/SPOT X style devices that allow for active tracking and 2-way comms, but I wouldn't consider using a PLB alone as my only emergency communication/location device as they do not allow for widely accessible active tracking, are useless if the button doesn't get pushed, and they don't allow for 2-way communication.

Satellite phones used to be the gold standard before SPOT and InReach were on the scene, but they are largely becoming obsolete as they come with their own host of problematic factors. That having been said, most do include an SOS button these days. Battery life and broken antennas are the Achilles heel of these devices. They have to be on to be pinged like a cell phone.

Some redundancy, when weight and space allow, is also a very good thing. As the old adage goes, two is one and one is none. All tech fails eventually, in my experience usually when you need it most.

Personally, the combo of a SAT texting capable phone and an InReach style device is a functional, redundant setup that minimizes "extra" weight and bulk in the kit. The new InReach Messenger Plus device allows for all of the features of the other InReach devices plus the ability to send photos and voice memos via satellite. For whatever that is worth.
 

Dan Carey said:
ACR PLB looks like the right choice for my life style.
Click to expand...
Smartest way to go for a solo hunter, all these guys pushing the satelite messengers IMO are looking at things from the wrong perspective. Just to be clear nothing says you can’t have both , and I’ve used both, but if I’m seriously injured, disoriented or lost and exposed to weather that I think is going to KILL me I want help right now. I could care less about texting my wife who would be clueless in what to do and a locked in GPS coordinate sent directly to SARSAT is miles better than a trail of where I’ve been. If you are truly incapacitated to the point you no longer have consciousness it’s a body recovery anyway, the goal is to be saved within a lifesaving timeline if possible. I will tell you that one year I borrowed a buddies in reach in addition to my PLB when dropped off by horses from an outfitter about 7 miles in in the SW part of the state hunting by myself, I knew I would have no communication from cell data and I also had to communicate with the outfitter if I killed something to come pack it out for me. It was not easy to communicate with my wife, I had all kinds of connection issues in the valley I was in with steep ridges. The signal is pretty weak on a Inreach compared to a PLB. You fall off some beetle kill deadfall and impale yourself on a steep mountainside in the canopy how strong a signal do you want to get help to you ASAP? I believe in redundancy when it comes to emergency equipment but if I had an Inreach on one hand and a PLB in the other and I’m in a life and death situation I can tell you which one I’m pushing first.
 
I’m in New Mexico and haven’t heard or seen that report. Certainly want to know as much as everyone else. This hits way too close to home. The local news reports say no details on the cause.
 
TexasCub said:
If you are truly incapacitated to the point you no longer have consciousness it’s a body recovery anyway, the goal is to be saved within a lifesaving timeline if possible.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the insight on PLB. I never really thought about those. And in your scenario, absolutely would be the best tool.

If I fall off a cliff and snap my neck and crush my head, the PLB is worthless to me.

If i fall off a cliff a snap my neck and crush my head, the InReach is worthless to me also.

However, the InReach will leave a breadcrumb to that cliff, allowing my family to recover my body and bring me home. I owe that to my family.
 
AZ8 said:
I appreciate the insight on PLB. I never really thought about those. And in your scenario, absolutely would be the best tool.

If I fall off a cliff and snap my neck and crush my head, the PLB is worthless to me.

If i fall off a cliff a snap my neck and crush my head, the InReach is worthless to me also.

However, the InReach will leave a breadcrumb to that cliff, allowing my family to recover my body and bring me home. I owe that to my family.
Click to expand...
Bingo!
 
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