Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board SPOT abuse?

From the NPS morning report... I don't use a SPOT myself, but thought this was interesting, given the numerous discussions here about SPOT.

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Hikers Evacuated After Three SPOT Activations In Three Days

On the evening of September 23rd, rangers began a search for hikers who repeatedly activated their rented SPOT satellite tracking device. The GEOS Emergency Response Center in Houston reported that someone in the group of four hikers – two men and their two teenaged sons – had pressed the “help” button on their SPOT unit. The coordinates for the signal placed the group in a remote section of the park, most likely on the challenging Royal Arch loop. Due to darkness and the remoteness of the location, rangers were unable to reach them via helicopter until the following morning. When found, they’d moved about a mile and a half to a water source. They declined rescue, as they’d activated the device due to their lack of water. Later that same evening, the same SPOT device was again activated, this time using the “911” button. Coordinates placed them less than a quarter mile from the spot where searchers had found them that morning. Once again, nightfall prevented a response by park helicopter, so an Arizona DPS helicopter whose crew utilized night vision goggles was brought in. They found that the members of the group were concerned about possible dehydration because the water they’d found tasted salty, but no actual emergency existed. The helicopter crew declined their request for a night evacuation, but provided them with water before departing. On the following morning, another SPOT “help” activation came in from the group. This time they were flown out by park helicopter. All four refused medical assessment or treatment. The group’s leader had reportedly hiked once at the Grand Canyon; the other adult had no Grand Canyon and very little backpacking experience. When asked what they would have done without the SPOT device, the leader stated, “We would have never attempted this hike.” The group leader was issued a citation for creating a hazardous condition (36 CFR 2.34(a)(4)). [Submitted by Brandon Torres, Canyon District Shift Supervisor]

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Morons.

And how much did this cost us taxpayers?

I read this 3 times to make sure I actually understood what was going on. These guys are in short "STUPID"! Oh yea, in long, they are selfish, rude, ignorant, thoughtless, immature and careless. In this article, there is not one point where these 4 people show any personal responsibility. The helicoptor should have taken them to a high elevation and dropped them.
AND, they should be billed for all rescue efforts. It looks like two of these people "may" have fathered children as teenagers were there. Oh, I feel sorry for the kids.

Darwin is fighting a losing battle... first they invent helicopters and Emergency Rooms, now this...

Unfortunately the gene pool will continue with this group. Technology is great when in the hands of the responsible and bad when in the hands of the uneducated,uninformed,and the world owes me type of personalities.

Maybe I should get one, and have someone "copter" me some beer on the switchbacks. ; )

I can predict (with probably 98% accuracy) that we will see this exact same story again next May/June, though it will be on Whitney---more specifically, on the Main Trail. (Why walk all the way back to the Portal store to try and get search & rescue because your tent blew into the pond when you can just press a button...?)

I would like to see or hear some independant verification of this story before I pass judgement. I would like to hear from the defense instead of just the prosecution.

Just another example - although a bit extreme - of the mindset of many when they venture into the wilderness. Why spend time preparing and planning when other people - who did prepare and plan - are ostensibly available to bail you out of a self-made fix? Actually though, it's just a lens for society at large. A certain percentage of people are always going to be irresponsible and dependant on others for no reason other than their lack of inclination to carry their weight (notice I didn't say ability). It's demonstrated daily by the folks who jam hospital emergency rooms from common colds to hangnails, slowing down true emergency care, as well as folks like the self-absorbed knucklehead who called 911 from a fast food restaurant a few months ago because her order wasn't right. It's always been that way, and always will be. It just seems to me that the percentage of the population who view life this way keeps growing. And some of these people venture into the backcountry . . .

I had a vivid example of this a few years ago in Death Valley that infuriated me. I was hiking up to the Keane Wonder Mine - no easy jaunt, as it's extremely steep and quite exposed in areas - and ran across a young lady in the old cable tram ruins about 3 miles up. She was in a bad way - flushed, dizzy, trembling, with no water or backpack, and only a cellphone, which of course didn't work in the park. I asked what was the matter, and she explained that her boyfriend had left her there - in that condition - because he wanted to hike over the saddle above the ruins and make it to the central mine. He had taken all their water since it was a hot day and he would need it. He had the one and only backpack as well, with the first aid kit . . .

Well, I had planned to make the same trek this bozo was making, but there was no way I could leave this young woman in the blazing sun, with no H2O and in her condition. I got her reasonably hydrated, got some Tylenol in her, cracked an ice pack for her head and neck, gave her my wide-brimmed hat and escorted her back down to the trailhead. About two hours later, Don Juan comes sauntering back down the mountain without a care in the world. She had recovered enough to lay into him with a vengeance. It was quite a show and well worth the time spent. The really sad part is that when it was over, the guy was still clueless what the fuss was all about. In his mind, he really hadn't done anything wrong . . .

"the group were concerned about possible dehydration because the water they’d found tasted salty,"

Should have added pepper to it.....

Didn't they know this was a case of well-planned electrolyte replacement for their benefit and comfort?

I was under the impression that you had to pay for a helicopter rescue / call out (unless maybe its a true emegency as determined by the rescue services). Can some one enlighten me ?

Paraphrasing Bob: In almost all cases in CA, the county that does the SAR will send a bill to the county of residence of the individual(s).


This wasn't CA, so I don't know how it works, but would guess it's the same.

Most SAR agencies don't charge. Richard is correct that in CA, they'll send the bill to the county of residence, but the individual is never charged. NPS doesn't charge except in rare circumstances. I suspect NPS is looking at this one very closely. I also vaguely remember that McKinley requires SAR insurance, though I'm not sure about that.

Last year, I had some hope for SPOT devices. There were about 6 or so activations in Sequoia Kings -- all were justified, though maybe not true emergencies. This year I don't think there were any legitimate activations. All were examples of hitting the "mommy" button (and included that PCT hiker at the beginning of the season). One guy (using a PLB) was found in dense brush going down Cartridge Creek (truly an unpleasant route). He was whimpering and had no real plan if rangers hadn't magically appeared out of the sky. Another group of horse packers hit their 911 because one of their horses was lame. When rangers got to the location, they were gone (two rangers had to be pulled off regular duties to hike to their location -- whole thing took the entire day).

There's some sort of SAR workgroup that's probably going to have a long talk with the makers of these devices.

Sort of on the GPS topic. An incident had several people heading back to the trailhead. They were behind schedule and got to a trail junction. Looking at their handy GPS, they saw it was only 4 miles back to their car on the GPS calculated straight line vs. 15 via trail. Follow the GPS brick road, of course!! It took them down a gnarly canyon where they got stuck and waited two days for rescue. At no point along the increasingly difficult route did they think "hmmm, maybe we better go back" because the GPS kept showing them getting closer. In the sense that the top of El Cap is only 1 mile from the Valley, they were right. Also, needless to say, there were toxic amounts of testosterone preventing clear thinking.

g.

Funny that it's mostly the XYs hitting the mommy buttons. Perhaps every SPOT should include some estrogen patches to keep hikers thinking more clearly...?

Hmmm... for once... I got nuthin'...

Welcome back to the frontcountry, George! Sorry I missed you at Charlotte Lake this year.

-L

SPOT = Stupid People On Trails

Fortunately, there are Spot success stories, too:
    A SPOT 911 Message and blinking LEDs Help Save Photographer
 

I'll be sure to remember that this weekend when I am tromping both ON and OFF trail and my SPOT is tucked in the topper of my pack.

Yup, got one, use it (mostly when solo, so not terribly often), and my fam/friends get a kick out of being able to watch my progress online. Although, since the continuing difficulties surround accurate signals/positioning and the frequency with which they are received, I've gotten more than one e-mail from friends after I get home asking for a call (Thanks, ScottieMac! Alpine Col was EVIL!). I still hold that the SPOT receives some of its stiffest testing in the Sierra due to the deep canyons and lack of available direct LOS to the southern sky. For me, if mom and dad are happy, I'm happy.

What remains is, as usual, the lack of preparation and planning by those attempting to use the device. Frankly, I feel it is the responsibility of the USER to become informed and properly trained about any device prior to its use. And, as DougSr said last year, after 15 minutes away from the trailhead, you are YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY. All of which seem to point to people stepping up and ownng up to their own skill sets...

Yeah, talk about wishful thinking...

-L