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A visually loud marker post, with EPIRB built in, that can easily be hammered into the ground. A Ramset charge might be needed on rock outcrops. Having long storage life batteries, that only discharge when epirb is initiated, makes for low maintainance.
These could periodically be placed along tracks
and each hut gets one. These marks are good reference points and can help with the trip orienteering. Each beacon would be registered at a set location for speed of rescue.
A high risk area could be pinned out, such as dense forest bordering picnic glades in case wanderers get lost.
Though, if your alone and are planning the possiblity of calling help, carry a personal epirb or transceiver. An E-spike won't help the immobile.
Although, maybe hunters should be able to set them off with a shot. Nah, Don't want someone killed as they try for the beacon.
The State Exists for the State alone ..
http://www.kiplings.../poems_deathbed.htm
Kipling [8th of 7, Nov 24 2016]
[link]
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Sadly, two trampers were found dead on trail in NZ. Another case was a woman set fire to an island while trying to signal for help. |
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What is an Epirb? Are you talking about something on the internet? What is a ramset? rock outcrops? huts? As far as I can tell you are babbling incoherently. |
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An EPIRB is a portable distress transmitter. |
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A Ramset is an explosively-set piton or rock anchor. |
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It's an OK idea, but somewhat anti-Darwinian ... |
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Is "hut" the Brit word for tent? |
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No, a hut is a small shelter, usually of wood, but sometimes brick or stone, which provides basic weather protection. They are built as refuges in remote areas. |
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It's all sounds a bit 'safe and civilized' for my tastes. |
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Trail marking?... that's what the deer are for. |
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Some of the tourists here could certainly use something like this. (+) |
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Tourist cleanup … that's what bears are for. |
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Very much off topic, but has anyone here used Ramsets? My understanding is that they're basically captive gun cartridges that fire a bolt or spike - is that so? |
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Yes. We have experience ... althogh not entirely in the role envisaged for them by the manufacturer. |
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I too was envisaging a role not envisaged by the manufacturer. The interesting thing is that you can buy the charges (cartridges?) on eBay, even here in this tame, sceptered isle. |
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Honestly, given the number of idiots cramming into
national parks and walks - I'd make EPIRB carrying and
registration just part of the park booking process. Either
enter your EPIRB beacon number, or hire one for your
hike. The new GPS-enabled EPIRBS are so good that they
don't even need to send a search party - they just fly the
chopper in overhead and come down to pick you up. For
~$300AUD and maybe 100g of weight, I do not understand
why you'd go anywhere remote without them. |
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Some newer ones include features like the ability to send
text messages via satellite, etc, as well as being a rescue
beacon. |
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I'm against marking trails, or putting communication
stations along them because it's just more cost and effort
for rangers. I personally go a lot of places off-trail, and
my EPIRB works perfectly well wherever I am (or
hopefully does, I've never had to set it off, although I was
sorely tempted a few times). |
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// I do not understand why you'd go anywhere remote without them. // |
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If you're not up for being part of the food chain for the scavengers, stay at home. If you go hiking in the middle of nowhere, so be it. Don't expect to be rescued. No-one made you go. Shit happens. Get over it. |
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//If you go hiking in the middle of nowhere, so be it.
Don't expect to be rescued. No-one made you go. Shit
happens. Get over it.// |
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Easy to say from your living room mate. Having been part
of a few rescue searches myself - everyone is pretty
happy to be part of the search to be honest. |
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And frankly, the purpose of an EPIRB is to cut down on
rescue efforts - "come and get me from this position"
rather than the alternative which is "he's not back yet,
better start the grid search". |
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Honestly, a PLB is there so if you have a moderate
accident, you can call for help. Another way to look at is
to prevent being eaten alive by said scavengers. If you
fell and broke your neck, you couldn't activate your epirb
anyway. It's really only useful in a limited range of
scenarios. If you're in a group, that dynamic changes
somewhat. |
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I go doing dangerous things in remote places. I'm
comfortable with the risks that are inherent with the
activity - but I (and reasonably so, I think) control the
ones that can be controlled, without spoiling it. |
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That's fair enough. We too engage in such activities. |
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The point is that part of the attraction of such activities is that they are inherently dangerous. Many elective activities are. The enjoyment is directly related to the presence of a real threat to life. |
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Being part of a rescue team similarly engenders feelings of mutual purpose and achievement; but it has to be clear to all participants that the rescue is also a discretionary activity. |
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A lifeboat rescuing the crew of a foundering ship is a duty; a chopper plucking an injured park ranger from a remote area is the same. Both were doing their job, and something went wrong. |
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When an activity is purely recreational, the approach should be different. |
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Mmmm, but by that notion, ambulance response to car
accidents would be dependent on whether the injured parties
were driving for work or just recreational purposes. |
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How are you choosing who gets rescued? |
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(that said, I am a big fan of some sort of subscriber insurance
for remote rescue -I just can't imagine how to manage it) |
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// How are you choosing who gets rescued? // |
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Net financial worth, how else ? |
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Yes to the insurance. Simple to implement - you have to rent your EPIRB from an insurer. |
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This should be applicable to all dangerous sports. |
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//I'd make EPIRB carrying and registration just part of the park booking process.// |
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"OMG! I stepped in a stream and got my feet wet! Good thing I've got this EPIRB. I'll just call the chopper to take me home." |
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Yes, I know misuse can incur a large fine, but this happens after-the-fact, when the rescue team's time has already been wasted. |
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Easy - have an insurer's blacklist. Misuse the EPIRB, get blacklisted. You can still go hiking, but you won't get rescued if anything goes wrong. The local carnivores will soon handle the problem, if it is a problem. |
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// Yes, I know misuse can incur a large fine, but this
happens after-the-fact, when the rescue team's time has
already been wasted.// |
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I get your point but I hate that kind of thinking. "a small
percentage of the time people misuse something, so lets
ban it" is in my mind what's wrong with society today. |
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...Of course we should just solve the problem rather than
just talk about it... Satellite messengers (like a text-only
satphone, the idea being it's relatively easy to push the
data of a small text through intermittent signal, versus
trying to maintain a link good enough for discernible two
way voice transmission) could be used instead of EPIRBs.
The current generation of sat messengers do suffer from
signal strength issues, but that seems resolvable. My
proposal is to instead of having an on/off EPIRB, make it
so you have to text emergency services with what's
wrong. |
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"I'm in an extremely remote area and my car broke down,
I have 2 days worth of water but it could be weeks until
the next vehicle comes along" needs a very different, and
much cheaper response, than say "I've been bitten by a
western taipan, I've got it wrapped up but I'm starting to
feel crook". I mean even "I've broken my leg but I'm in the
shade and have food and water for 3 days" probably
doesn't need a chopper. With a satellite messenger, I'd
be more likely to call a mate rather than SES for that
kind of thing - especially if calling the SES costs me
money, directly or indirectly via premiums. |
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The wilderness has tried to kill me many times. It is a very good, if slightly unforgiving, teacher. |
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If you want to take those classes you have to be prepared to pay the tuition. A rescue alert button wouldn't have saved me from even a single one of those close calls.
I would take off into the bush for several days at a time and nobody would know I'd even left let alone where my body might be found if I didn't come back. |
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I figure that all kids should be taught wilderness survival as a matter of course.
That it isn't widely taught says a lot about just how expendable your government considers you as a citizen to be. |
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There's no excuse for anyone over the age of twelve to not be able to survive alone in the bush for extended periods other than they were not taught how. It should be mandatory. |
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I still like the idea for tourists though. I mean, I could survive for quite a while here lost in the woods... but drop me in the middle of Australia or India and all bets are off. |
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// It is a very good, if slightly unforgiving, teacher. // |
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"Experience is the harshest teacher, because she gives the test first and the lesson afterwards." |
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// all kids should be taught wilderness survival as a matter of course. // |
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Not necessarily. Those who choose to do so, or are taught by their families, confer an evolutionary advantage upon themselves. Charles Darwin would be so proud ... |
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// That it isn't widely taught says a lot about just how expendable your government considers you as a citizen to be. // |
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Ironically, it's a major part of military training, which suggests that service personnel are somewhat less "expendable" than civilians, but from the point of view of the survival of the nation-state, all citizens are expendable; "Go, ask the Spartans ..." |
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