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anutami Posts: 491
2/26/2015
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Anyone know more details on the missing hiker near Warner springs?
http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/02/25/search-for-missing-east-county-hiker-intensifies/
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rockhopper Posts: 668
2/26/2015
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That news report has an error. The hiker started hiking the PCT heading south in Anza not Anza Borrego.
http://www.cbs8.com/story/28199875/search-for-missing-hiker-after-gear-found-abandoned-in-east-county
Then this:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/25/missing-hiker-pacific-crest-trail-search/
Know the area well. My brother and I hiked that section of the PCT years back. Off trail hiking, well you all know what that's like. Hope they find the guy.
Edit to update: Search called off during storm Sat-Mon March 2nd
edited by rockhopper on 2/26/2015
edited by rockhopper on 2/28/2015
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anutami Posts: 491
2/28/2015
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Find it hard to believe someone would abandon all their gear! Any thoughts on why you would "dump" your pack?
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
3/1/2015
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Nolan (anutami) wrote:
Find it hard to believe someone would abandon all their gear! Any thoughts on why you would "dump" your pack? Nolan, that is a great question, I hike with folks who seem to always want to "leave the packs" while they go hike around and you can ask any of them I hike with that I always complain and say no, I am bringing my pack. I am not a fan of leaving my pack anywhere unless it is a planned day trip while we base camp, too many variables and I never understand why people like to do it. But that said, I know people do it because they think they will be right back or whatever...never a good idea to me personally...
Hope they find him, reading this morning the search is temporarily suspended for weather reasons.
Daren
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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rockhopper Posts: 668
3/1/2015
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Nolan and Daren,
I guess I am guilty. I dump my pack all the time every few hours of solo hiking and leave it while I take a walk around for a short time to scout the area for potential camp spots, photograph, scan the earth for mountain Lion tracks, Arrowheads, Catch a cell tower signal ( a big zip most of the time) , and generally survey the area. The next day, after a tidy base camp is made, I leave camp with most of the gear in the tent and head off for a long day hike. This only applies to No Bear areas. Don't ask!
Re: Missing hiker. The search party general consensus is that he dumped his pack to search for a cell signal. So they have been checking around all peaks nearby. It's storming and snowing in the area as I write this. Hope he made it out. I think he went down canyon searching for water. You need a flip out saw.
Edit: News reports say his gear was found near a Buddhist Temple, other news reports say his gear was 5 miles from the temple. Chris Sylvia was supposed to show at Campo on the 24th. On the 24th his abandoned gear on the PCT was discovered by hikers.
edited by rockhopper on 3/1/2015
edited by rockhopper on 3/1/2015
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/1/2015
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I've been carrying a sat phone on every hike for the past five years so I haven't needed to dump my pack looking for cell service. Have never needed it to make "that one call" but glad to have it along. It's basically another form of health/accident insurance and prices have come down considerably. Inmarsat now has US coverage. Their Isatphone 2 is now about $800 on amazon and you can even buy six month prepaid SIM cards for about $100. Just throwing this out there as a safety/backup option.
Hope the hiker makes it out okay.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
3/1/2015
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tommy750 wrote:
I've been carrying a sat phone on every hike for the past five years so I haven't needed to dump my pack looking for cell service. Have never needed it to make "that one call" but glad to have it along. It's basically another form of health/accident insurance and prices have come down considerably. Inmarsat now has US coverage. Their Isatphone 2 is now about $800 on amazon and you can even buy six month prepaid SIM cards for about $100. Just throwing this out there as a safety/backup option.
Hope the hiker makes it out okay. Another reason why I like hiking with Tom....
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
3/1/2015
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Tom makes a good point regarding Inmarsat phones. We carry one for our field studies at the Channel Islands (because we are required to). They aren't all that heavy and considering what folks spend on outdoor gear, etc., boy, it seems like a good idea.
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/1/2015
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Tom makes a good point regarding Inmarsat phones. We carry one for our field studies at the Channel Islands (because we are required to). They aren't all that heavy and considering what folks spend on outdoor gear, etc., boy, it seems like a good idea.
I'm a single guy with no kids. You solo hikers with wives and kids and mortgages don't get heat to get one of these?? Just wondering.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
3/1/2015
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tommy750 wrote:
I'm a single guy with no kids. You solo hikers with wives and kids and mortgages don't get heat to get one of these?? Just wondering. Honey, I'm going out to the desert (again).......
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
3/1/2015
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I don't *own* one, but I have access to one. After seeing this post and thinking about the lost hiker, my desire to do longer, more technical trips, I might get my own. My better half supports anything that makes backcountry travel safer. It seems like a reasonable insurance policy (Table of Iridium 9555 subscription costs). Of course, the phone itself is $1,195, but it's lighter and cheaper than some DSLRs that we lug around. And you can make *phone calls* with it!
tommy750 wrote:
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Tom makes a good point regarding Inmarsat phones. We carry one for our field studies at the Channel Islands (because we are required to). They aren't all that heavy and considering what folks spend on outdoor gear, etc., boy, it seems like a good idea.
I'm a single guy with no kids. You solo hikers with wives and kids and mortgages don't get heat to get one of these?? Just wondering.
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/1/2015
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I have the iridium 9555. It's solid and has a great battery life. It weighs 11.5 oz with the protective case although the newer models appear to be a bit lighter. Have had zero problems with it but registering with the network has been slower the past year than in previous years. Not sure why. I use roadpost and pay about $50/month plus about $1.49/min. The new iridium extreme is only 8.7 oz but have no plans to upgrade. The Inmarsat seems appealing since it looks like you can get prepaid SIM cards that last six month and have low minutes, something I don't think is available with iridium. Suspect we're at low enough latitudes the equatorial geosynchronous orbit of Inmarsat wouldn't matter but would be a big deal if you liked the far north or did a lot of hiking in canyons or on steep slopes.
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ziphius Posts: 911
3/1/2015
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I hadn't realized most of 'em were serviced by satellites at equatorial latitudes, good point. And you're right that you're not going to make an SOS call from the deep canyons of Utah with these units. But they are still a good idea.
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/1/2015
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
I hadn't realized most of 'em were serviced by satellites at equatorial latitudes, good point. And you're right that you're not going to make an SOS call from the deep canyons of Utah with these units. But they are still a good idea.
Iridium has 66 low orbit satellites so it's better for those circumstances where a line of sight to the southern skies is not guaranteed.
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rockhopper Posts: 668
3/2/2015
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Tom,
Thanks for the heads up on the Satelite phone. With all the off trail and out of cell phone range solo hiking I do I need to look into that, although I still push all my thoughts of the modern age away when solo hiking and only focus on each step taken in the sake of self preservation.
I still think the hiker went low in search of water. It hadn't rained all month when he went on the hike. Search to continue this week. I might head out, if the wife lets me.
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/2/2015
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dsefcik wrote:
tommy750 wrote:
I'm a single guy with no kids. You solo hikers with wives and kids and mortgages don't get heat to get one of these?? Just wondering. Honey, I'm going out to the desert (again).......
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I got your drift at one blah, Daren
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/2/2015
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rockhopper wrote:
Tom,
Thanks for the heads up on the Satelite phone. With all the off trail and out of cell phone range solo hiking I do I need to look into that, although I still push all my thoughts of the modern age away when solo hiking and only focus on each step taken in the sake of self preservation.
I still think the hiker went low in search of water. It hadn't rained all month when he went on the hike. Search to continue this week. I might head out, if the wife lets me.
Whatever he did, hopefully this story turns out positive. Tom
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