mtv wrote:Landed, using up airplane in process.
MTV
That just might be the greatest single forum quote and relaying of experience I’ve read to date.
On InReach’s, I’m a major fan and early adopter. We used them outfitting instead of sat phones; a more reliable comm link as you’re sending so much less data to and from space than voice, much smaller, lighter, and weather resistant meaning you actually carry it, and far better battery life and recharging options.
We’ve had several near life threatening incidents supported with InReach’s. Two incidents of flash floods in the Great Bear Rainforest and stranded guides and clients caught in rising mountain rivers. One occasion an early jet boat rescue after the worst river run I’ve ever had to make, there were 200’ trees coming down the river you had to time to pass as they rotated and constant junk and flotsam plugging the jet. The other they swam to the closest place the floatplane could get to, after an all nighter getting ready to raft down hugging their gear. The full versions of those need beer to be properly relayed, or they’ll come through far too dried out and dull.
Then just this winter, yep winter, we had a grizzly aggressively approach two of our crew I’d heli dropped on a beach. They had nothing to defend themselves with, as we were heli skiing and they were investigating a winter hot spring. Bears were the last thought on our minds, but a hungry grizz was out and about. They hit the emergency button on the inreach, which got SAR involved immediately. Then locally we got two helicopters going thanks to the messages, and a boat from a nearby unassociated lodge, all moving within 15 minutes of the messages. One of the helicopters won the race, in atrocious convective snow squalls by the way.
There have been numerous other bear incidents (we used to hunt them professionally, not the bear’s fault typically we were in their house), resolved food and equipment shortages, clarifications of timelines that would have resulted in missed pickups, etc. It’s utterly a tool I never leave without, now that they exist. Get an inreach mini.
