Philmont – Need for Garmin inReach Explorer or SPOT Communication Devices?

[Don H]

Our scout troop is going to Philmont for the first time this summer and the adult leaders are determining equipment requirements.  One question we have is the need, if any, for additional emergency communication devices such as the Garmin inReach or SPOT satellite messenger.  We understand that we will pass through staff camps daily to check-in and every three days to resupply.  This is potentially a ‘low probability / high severity’ scenario where it’s probably not needed but, if needed, would be critical — but we don’t know. Would like this groups thoughts:

1. What emergencies have you seen in the back-country?
2. Would such a device have increased chance of success or speed of response?
3. What else would you advise?

Thanks,
Don

[Matt Dirksen]

1. In my three Philmont excursions, the only “emergency” was a crew got lost up in the Valle Vidal not far from our crew. Even up there, the response was fast and efficient.
2. Probably not
3. The third trip, I had my iPhone, a solar charger, and an extra battery pack. We let the kids navaguess, and only pulled out the GPS when we were doing some unique bushwacking navigation in the Valle.

Even if I owned an InReach, I’d likely leave it at home and bring the phone again. It’s just not needed out there with all the backcountry staff around.

 

[Don H]

Thanks Matt – we are leaning towards not taking these devices for the reasons you pointed out but want to be sure we are not missing something.  22,000 people per year with few incidents means a lot of coverage.

Thanks for your comment on the group that got lost.  Perhaps a better question for the forum is “what unusual situations/incidents should be first-time crew be aware of and prep?”

Much appreciated!

Don

[Matt Dirksen]

No problem!

Are you going up into the Valle? If so, then the kids will have an opportunity to learn to truly work with map & compass, since many program areas up there don’t have established trails connecting them, so some bushwacking is in order. (unless they now have trails – our trip was back several years ago)

[TAG in AZ]

Last year, I had my phone with route mapped out in Gaia GPS and my InReach. I only used the map on my phone once to see exactly how far off track we were. Being a good advisor, I just watched the tragedy unfold and tried to enjoy the bonus miles.

I ran the InReach every day so that families at home could follow along with our trip. I also used the InReach to text birthday wishes to one of my kids at home.

Honestly though, I went to Philmont twice during the early 90’s and we did fine without electronics. I carry them now as accessories. They make the trip a little better, but they aren’t a critical part of the experience.

[Don H]

Matt,

Itinerary selection is later this month and our scouts are finalizing their selections … I’m hoping for a bushwhacking segment!  Would love to see real map/compass skills employed.

Don

[Don H]

Thanks TAG.  A couple of us will have Gaia running in the background as well.  The message home feature is useful … we’ve got good parents who don’t “helicopter” but I’ll run this past the team to see what they think.

Don

[Bob Shuff]

I’m glad to see the consensus on not needing the InReach to leave bread crumbs or navigate, so if I take mine it will only be powered on for a short time as needed.  That means less extra battery capacity needed.  I haven’t used mine more than a weekend, so this concerned me if I was running it continuously.

I’m still leaning towards taking mine for sending regular “all’s well” messages to my family, daily or less often.  The emergency use need seems like a long shot need, especially given the crew training and numbers, Philmont staff training and numbers, and the partial cell coverage.

[Brian Crain]

One of our ASMs had one on our 2015 trek, we didn’t need it but the parents back home appreciated the logging feature and being able to check out status. Hindsight, it was a mistake because we now have parents that expect that ;) …we won’t be taking one this year.

[Don H]

Thanks Brian – good point on managing the home front.  Our first time out so we may have more concerned folks.

[Jake J]

I lent my spot to the guys in our troop that went last year so that the parents could follow along while they were out there. At base camp the ranger discouraged them from using it stating that they have had problems in the past with false SOS being sent out and the like. So they opted to leave it off for their trek.

[Bruce Tolley]

Bob says: “The emergency use need seems like a long shot need, ….

Can I confirm that Philmont protocol is still to call the emergency number from where you stand or send someone to the nearest staffed camp to call the emergency number? Seems like if you sent a SOS via Garmin, Philmont would not know how to respond since you are not following procedure.  If you cannot self evacuate, they have access to helicopters, jeeps and of course the donkeys.

[Jeffrey Peters]

I was there last year. Philmont does discourage the use of those devises. The only value I see is keeping the families at home informed of how things are going.  All of the advisors had cell phones and when we stopped on a high peak we would check to see if we got a signal. If we did then we would atttempt to upload a post to the troops facebook page.  We try and do this for most of our outings anyway. Our troop has experienced a big surge in boys that last several years and this seems to help with some of the new scout parents.

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