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Consider purchasing a GPS for backcountry travel
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Posted by rdtusmc Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:51:21 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments In a previous “Outdoor Life” column I talked about the need to seriously consider purchasing a handheld GPS when traveling in the great outdoors. GPS stands for Global Positioning System and is a series of 24 satellites orbiting the earth approximately 23,000 miles into space. Besides helping folks avoid getting lost, they can help others find you in the event of an accident.
Originally designed only for military use, the system now provides accurate latitude and longitude navigational data for civilians. The 24 satellites fly in sets of four, traveling along six orbital planes spaced to ensure that at least four satellites are within view of any point on earth at all times.
I’ve been a believer in the concept of GPS and the necessity of having one with you whenever you ride off-road since it was brought to my attention by an acquaintance of mine who is an emergency dispatcher. But as a result of an accident that happened while on a ride with friends, I will never again venture into the wild without having a GPS in my pack.  Oh, and add to that a cell phone.
There’s more to this story than I can fit into this column so I will summarize as best I can. Cheryl and I have always felt it was important to be prepared for unexpected emergencies while camping or riding. I don’t know if either of us was fully prepared when an emergency happened with our friends while riding.
The main reason you need a GPS and a cell phone if you are away from home is that a 911 dispatcher answering your call for help can’t tell where you are calling from and will need your exact location to send help. So if you don’t have a GPS and are only able to get a cell phone signal and call for help and tell the dispatcher that you’re “about 5 miles away from a white motorhome near a cluster of boulders off of Highway 14,” you aren’t going to be of much help to whoever is in need of emergency attention.
On the other hand, if you have a GPS and a cell signal, you can give the dispatcher your latitude and longitude right off the screen of your GPS and a medevac helicopter and/or ground crews can know exactly where you are within a few feet. This could mean the difference between a friend or relative coming back home alive or not.
The other thing we all need to keep in mind with emergency response via paramedics on the ground or from the air is that it doesn’t always happen very quickly, like on TV. So the water you brought along (or forgot to) for your 30-minute ride may have to last awhile (try eight hours) in the middle of nowhere with the sun baking you. Bringing extra water “just in case” can ensure that a stressful situation doesn’t escalate into a life or death situation.
My hat is off to our local emergency response folks, whether they be fire department, ambulance, air ambulance, dispatchers or awaiting medical personnel at local hospitals. Thanks for bringing my friends back alive to  ride  another day.  We are all the wiser as a result of this accident.  I’m thankful we had GPS and a cell phone to start out with and I’m thankful everyone involved kept their heads screwed on straight that day.
One last note: That GPS won’t do you a lick of good if it’s sitting on your kitchen table at home while you’re off in the wild.

E-mail Dick at: rdtusmc@msn.com

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