| For pure emergency location beacons, there's an option that does not require any monthly fees at all: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cospas-Sarsat_Pr... And yes, it's generally a good idea for anybody hiking in areas without cell phone reception - even if it's not particularly far out from populated areas! I live in North Bend, WA, and it feels like almost every year there's at least one hiker lost on one of the popular local trails. Sometimes they get lucky: https://www.kuow.org/stories/this-hiker-survived-9-days-with... https://fox11online.com/news/nation-world/you-go-from-hope-t... And sometimes they don't: https://livingsnoqualmie.com/search-suspended-russian-hiker-... https://livingsnoqualmie.com/hiker-still-missing-in-middle-f... I mentally shudder every time I go hiking there, and see all the people dressed in cotton clothing and wearing street shoes (or even flip flops!) as they head towards the trail from the trailhead parking lot. Maybe there's something about well-maintained trails that promotes a false sense of security? Like, it looks neat and well-travelled, there's plenty of signage, so what could possibly go wrong? And it mostly doesn't - but when it does, it can get real bad real quick. |
Just a few days ago a family was rescued after becoming stuck in the Simpson Desert and activating their beacon.
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories...