RV Adventure gone very wrong

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Yesterday's news included articles about the 5-click trick on an iPhone, which allows one to send an SOS, something I didn't even realize was there.

The iPhone SOS requires cell service. While better than in the past, once you get clear of highways, cell service is far from guaranteed. I would go as far as to can't be expected.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

Everyone if you do any sort of boondocking or even camping and hiking in National Forests of Parks, please consider getting an inReach two way satellite text messenger....

I had a SPOT device for a number of years but had let the subscription lapse as I did not use it any more. Just a few weeks ago I acquired an inReach device to use for my backpacking, wilderness canoeing and mountain running adventures. It has not arrived yet but is expected any day. I have a half dozen friends and family with the same device (including my Mountain Guide son) who are all quite happy with it. I expect that it will be useful to bring along on my Escape travels as well.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

The iPhone SOS requires cell service. While better than in the past, once you get clear of highways, cell service is far from guaranteed. I would go as far as to can't be expected.

Oh, I'm sorry, I've got the new iPhone landline model. No more crazy cellular bills!

[cpaharley2008]

Known as backwards integration.....

[Bea]

We have also been looking at devices to provide emergency communication in areas that don't have cell coverage. The Zoleo Satellite Communicator device (https://www.amazon.com/ZOLEO-Satelli...ef_=ast_sto_dp) is a tempting alternative to the Garmin Inreach.

The Zoleo is significantly cheaper, and the savings could be used for the "unlimited plan" for a few months while spending a summer in Alaska & the Yukon. The Zoleo also comes with a unique "phone number" that may make texting with people back home easier in some ways.

Anyone have first-hand experience with this Zoleo product?

- Bea

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Bea

The Zoleo also comes with a unique "phone number" that may make texting with people back home easier in some ways.

I've had our inReach going on 5 years. It couldn't be simpler for people back home to text you. But, they have to text you back or be on your contact list.

If you have an open SMS number all those SPAM text messages you get would count towards your monthly message count.

As I wrote before, at only $13 a month for the inReach Safety Plan you're going to want to keep the device always active.

With the inReach even on the annual plan, you can move up and down service levels every 30 days.

[hugh]

This is an interesting topic.

It's hard to escape the feeling that emergency communications options available today might compromise one of the most rewarding aspects of outdoor pursuits: self sufficiency. I used to do a lot of backcountry solo activities, and part of the deal was knowing that if you fell and broke a leg, you might well be dead by the time anyone found you. That meant you made sure you knew what you were doing, where you were going, and planned for the unexpected. Developing and using the necessary knowledge and skills was very rewarding.

If I still did that sort of thing today, I'd be an idiot not to bring along a satellite telemetry device, just because they're available. But I don't think I'd have the same satisfaction from the experience, knowing that just hitting a button would likely bring help at any time.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to get at here, other than to say that some of the "rough edges" in life are what makes it enjoyable.

[Craiger]

I have always been amazed by the lack of gray material between the ears, of so many people. In my vehicle at all times is an emergency kit in a duffel bag. First-aid kit compass hiking shoes clothing candles matches emergency blanket and rudimentary tent. Also included is food. Anytime I go on a hike I always have the 10 essentials. That will allow me to survive for about two days. It's so easy to do these things and so few of us take it seriously.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Craiger

I have always been amazed by the lack of gray material between the ears, of so many people. In my vehicle at all times is an emergency kit in a duffel bag. First-aid kit compass hiking shoes clothing candles matches emergency blanket and rudimentary tent. Also included is food. Anytime I go on a hike I always have the 10 essentials. That will allow me to survive for about two days. It's so easy to do these things and so few of us take it seriously.

I agree, my daypack is an unexpected overnight pack. Sometimes it seems silly carrying the packs on busy trails, but, all too often we branch off and take spur trails. Sometimes, those don't go as planned and you run into unexpected obstacles (flooded areas, bridges out, steep cliffs, etc). Now you're either trail blazing around them, or doubling back and hiking unanticipated miles. While we never have had to spend an unplanned night out on the trail we're prepared.

We regularly hike in areas with spotty cellphone service. Being just a few miles away from civilization can leave without cell service. Nobody plans on being injured or having a heart attack. Whenever we venture out on a hike we carry our inReach. I'm a former Firefighter / EMT / Army Flight Medic, so maybe that makes me more cautious, I like to think it is just common sense.

edit: one other thing we carry in our unexpected overnight packs that I highly recommend everyone carry is a Sawyer Squeeze, LifeStraw, or similar water filtering device. I prefer the Sawyer Squeeze, over the LifeStraw as it is multi use. But, the LifeStraw will work for one time emergency use.

Sawyer Products Squeeze Water Filtration System

[MyronL]

RE the “…grey areas between the ears department.”

Was towing my 19 ft. Escape northwest of Nogales a few years ago, very near to the Mexican border, on Ruby Road.. I was alone, half-way into a southwest wilderness, the Coronado. I saw no wildlife, but there were arid grasses on yellow rolling hills. The area is complete with very ominous signs - posted warnings about smugglers.

I get to Ruby, a dusty old ex-mining town I imagined would be something great to see. This is open range country and I am a city guy. Many cattle guards cross the road, like nearly every mile. Animals will not walk across a cattle guard. Tenderfoots are not that smart. At the entrance to Ruby I towed over a cattle guard, and pull over for a picture. The trailer picture must include the sign on the fence for Ruby, so I walked back across the cattle guard. My right foot slipped immediately down, in between the rails. Now on the ground, in big trouble. Did I break a leg? I think so.

Of course I still got my picture. The drag back to the tow, though, was brutal. My only interest was get out, go home, fast.

Being deep in the Coronado, now real nervous, beginning to think of nasty smugglers, cartel criminals, desperate travelers with bad intentions. Need a defensive plan in case they like my tow vehicle and beautiful new trailer. A few miles later, around a bend a blue pickup appears. He gets close, then falls back, then gets close again. Gulp. They catch up to me, they wave. Tourists.

No cell phone service here, and Garmin has gone blank. It isn't just a grey line on the screen. Now the screen has a vanishing, dotted gray line. It is 3 PM and home is 375 miles away. Have I ever felt this lost? Maybe once on a hike deep in Baxter State Park. There, I sensed bears were behind every tree. Leaving the Ruby area I approach a fork in the road, but it has no markings.

What to do? I go left. Wrong fork. After half a mile the road disintegrates. Bad feeling.. Where can I turn this rig around? Finally, I do it, get back to that fork and then come upon a border patrol checkpoint. They knew I was coming, have radar under their tent. It turns out Ruby Road has a dangerous reputation. Happy chat with the fellows for a minute, and back north to I-19 and home.

It happens to anyone, this need to explore with our wonderful trailers, probe new places. What could go wrong? Once home it was clear mister tenderfoot also needed medical attention, X-rays of the leg. The guy in the ER came back laughing with the results. He says to me, “Only a bad bruise. Usually when we get cases like yours here, it is a major compound fracture.” The dude will abide.

[cpaharley2008]

One of the advantages with travel with your spouse, "no hard pavement, no way Jose" .....

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Centex

The situations described in the OP and the linked James Kim tragedy are indeed sad and tragic. Most all that can be said in hindsight has been said.

While satellite-based tracking / emergency messaging devices are great, and do provide an added degree of safety / reassurance in many if not most cases, I'm sure you recognize that technology is not infallible.

I know personally of two instances (and have read of others) where folks in genuine emergency situations were not able to notify others or be located by such devices when they were injured / incapacitated with the device not having a sufficiently clear view of the sky and therefore unable to establish the satellite links necessary for them to do their job even though they were triggered. Fortunately both of my friends were eventually found by 'traditional' search-and-rescue teams, but it took days in each case; both folks were well-enough prepared that they were able to survive until that occurred and both recovered fully from their injuries.

I'm certainly not nay-saying the value of those devices, IMO they're a great innovation for folks in many if not most emergency situations and more often than not aide in rapid rescue. But sometimes things conspire such that even the best technology can leave one in a bad spot longer than one might wish, so planning and preparation as if one doesn't have that device is probably still the prudent strategy for 'adventurers'.

Yep, no tech is foolproof. And we all can be fools on occasion... or just unlucky.

[Ooshkaboo]

Being deep in the Coronado, now real nervous, beginning to think of nasty smugglers, cartel criminals, desperate travelers with bad intentions. Need a defensive plan in case they like my tow vehicle and beautiful new trailer. A few miles later, around a bend a blue pickup appears. He gets close, then falls back, then gets close again. Gulp. They catch up to me, they wave. Tourists.

I think it was a great idea to explore that area, maybe you need a little friend like I have to keep you company, his name is Henry…

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by alanerickson

This made me think of James Kim, which happened around 15 years ago. Not camping, but took the wrong turn and got lost. This was during the age of cell phones, but they were so far in that they were not able to get a signal. I believe someone at the "phone company" was able to figure out the last tower to have contact with them and they got a rough idea of where to look for them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kim

As with other similar stories, it wasn't just one wrong turn - it was a series of bad decisions, each compounding the earlier errors and making the situation worse.

[blue_bullet]

We were headed from Burns, Or to Carson City, NV in mid-December. The same company that sells Pixel phones directed us off US 395 onto a county road in CA that turned into a 15 mph washboard in NV. That took us by the Paiute Reservation and beautiful Pyramid Lake. Those 50 miles of dirt roads had us both spooked with no cell phone service, no hard copy atlas, just the unreliable navigation software. As we approached the paved road again near the lake 3 trucks with horse trailers piloted by native Americans let us pass. They were laughing as we passed. I think they knew Google plays this trick on the unsuspecting. We have readopted the practice of carrying a road atlas. The navigation screen on a truck provides a limited perspective of where you are going.

https://goo.gl/maps/H2WKNPzujTJSMBwM8

I read later that week Google had routed people down an unmaintained FS road in a snowstorm.
https://www.newser.com/story/315113/...snowstorm.html

"Don't be evil."

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by blue_bullet

I read later that week Google had routed people down an unmaintained FS road in a snowstorm.

I awoke in Susanville on my way to Yosemite via Highway 395 on November 1, 2020 to find that my Garmin RV 780 GPS indicated the route across Yosemite via Tioga pass had suddenly closed; it had been "open" the day before as I drove south from Washington to Northern California.

I would apparently have to cross the Sierras westbound north of Yosemite on Highway 88, drop south, and then come into the Yosemite Valley from the west side. This would add about an hour of travel as compared to my planned route down to Tioga Pass where I planned to cross west on Highway 120.

I consulted my gray matter. I wondered if 120 was closed due to some minor fires that I knew were burning inside the park. The forecast called for 70-degree highs in the Valley, so it wasn't due to snow. I smelled something that wasn't trees burning; it was more like a rat.

I checked with the pass information line and the Tioga Pass Highway was open. The GPS had apparently applied a default calendar date of November 1st to "close" the higher-elevation route. I have never figured out how to override that, but I would sure be interested to hear how if someone can post it.

If you try to map a route that is closed in the winter on Google Maps during the winter season, it will route you around that road. However, you can override this on a PC by limiting the route to just one each starting and ending points. From there, you can select "Depart at" and change the date to a date in summer.

I've attached an example. This won't work if you have three or more destinations in the route, and I have not tried this on the phone app.

But yeah, atlases and maps; they're even handy if you run out of TP. Try taking care of that with a smart phone or GPS. And gray matter; don't leave home without it.

[gbaglo]

Just remember to put a note on your dashboard, saying where you are going.

[Jack!]

Our truck has a strong CB and we keep a handheld HAM. In no cell, very remote areas many locals & emergency services depend upon radio and repeaters. It's another option, just in case.

[h2owmn]

The road James Kim and his family were on, Bear Camp Road, is a connector between Galice, Oregon, and the Rogue River way downstream from there. It's used often by rafters to get between the put in for the wild and scenic section (Grave Creek, near Galice) and the take out (Foster Bar) @35 miles downriver.

It's such a sad story....I would not want to be the BLM person who should have locked the gate. As the wiki notes, James ended up not far from Black Bar Lodge, which was closed for the winter, but where there was food and shelter available.

[DK in AK]

Originally Posted by Jack!

Our truck has a strong CB and we keep a handheld HAM. In no cell, very remote areas many locals & emergency services depend upon radio and repeaters. It's another option, just in case.

Jack! What make/model handheld HAM do you use ? Would you recommend it or maybe another ?