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birdieponderinglife t1_itk4k2e wrote

Reply to comment by kelce in A train passenger saw a woman waving for help. It was a hiker who'd been missing. by guanaco55

After binging several seasons of I shouldn't be alive it became quite clear to me that 90% of the people on that show could have been rescued within 24 hours if they had a satellite phone, or even just a flare gun. Hell, something bright colored or shiny even.

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meatball77 t1_itkj7oy wrote

My brother probably would have been in one of those situations if he hadn't had his rescue beacon (with insurance). He fell and sprained his ankle a couple days out in the Grand Canyon. Had to be hellocoptered out of there. He's a very experienced hikers, but even experienced hikers can fall and break an ankle.

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tripsafe t1_itl4avh wrote

Don't like to imagine what his bill was

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meatball77 t1_itm16mi wrote

He had insurance so he didn't have to pay for the rescue. Apparently the service he used covered the rescue and contacts your emergency contact. He is a very experienced hiker which is why he knew to have the service.

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tripsafe t1_itn2v5w wrote

Oh that's awesome. It obviously sucks that that happened to him, but it must have been kinda nice to see that it worked and paid off.

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meatball77 t1_itn3m3w wrote

He ended up with just a sprain. There's no way he could have gotten himself out of the canyon but there was no long term injury which was nice.

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Wolfram_And_Hart t1_itkvk1g wrote

When picking my families go bags I made sure we all bought some variant of orange or orange/red specifically for this reason. I was like “this isn’t about fashion it’s about survival.”

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TheSorcerersCat t1_itl4l88 wrote

One of my first summers in the field really nailed home the message.

Picture this scenario, me and my partner wearing red. Heli-pilot drops us in a cirque that's about 1 mile across. No trees. No bush higher than 1 ft tall.

When heli pilot returns he circles for 10 minutes to find us. Gives up and lands. Waits for us to use the Garmin to text him our coordinates.

Luckily we were a 4-5 hour hike from main camp and had a fully charged Garmin and sat-phone. We would have been ok even if the clouds rolled in and we had to hike out.

But yep. Never heading out without a heli flag again.

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parsifal t1_itkzkmv wrote

One of the reasons I’m super happy new iPhones will have satellite calling capability by the end of this year.

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kharmakazzi t1_itl8c1r wrote

I remember reading earlier this year about new device on the market that can turn any cell or tablet into a satellite phone (Android or iOS) Super cool and had me geeked out.

Found the link:

https://www.iridium.com/blog/how-to-turn-your-cell-phone-into-a-satellite-phone/

"Iridium GO! is a small, lightweight, and rugged satellite communicator that overcomes the limits of cellular networks...

...provides satellite connectivity, giving users the ability to make phone calls, send and receive texts, get weather updates, share and send photos and more, directly from their mobile phones or tablets.

...Additional key features include email access via custom email apps, GPS tracking and emergency alerts (SOS). It also works with a line of accessories (available separately), including an external antenna, a wall mount bracket, and an outdoor power cable for a more fixed-installation type use case."

I haven't checked out any reviews yet but I'de imagine actually getting a satellite signal is still a challenge of itself (sometimes) Trees, hills, mountains ect. I like that the additional features included a SOS alert.

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churdtzu t1_itkpowm wrote

I'm not familiar with the show. What would someone do with the shiny thing in that situation? Wave at a passing plane or something?

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parsifal t1_itkzous wrote

I’m not the commenter but I think with shiny things you can reflect sunlight at planes.

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neuropean t1_itl11kk wrote

Not just planes, can be used to signal any distance with open line of sight. If they see people off in the distance, it could be used for that as well.

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birdieponderinglife t1_itl7ond wrote

Yep, to wave and get the attention of a rescue crew. Sometimes there is too much tree cover and that’s when something like a flare gun would be needed.

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saltgirl61 t1_itlkftv wrote

I love that show! We saw the value of wearing high vis clothing in the wilderness. But I found out that even brightly colored clothing can be hard to spot. My daughter and husband wanted to hike further up a desert ridge, so I sat on a rock and waited. No tree cover, I knew what direction they went, my daughter was wearing a hot pink shirt, and I still had trouble finding them!

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birdieponderinglife t1_itlwdgp wrote

Ya that’s why a flare gun seems so important to me. Redundancy is important— flash light, shiny blanket, high vis clothes and a flare gun and a satellite phone

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