SOS from solo canoe trip in the Quetico Park

[sneakySASQUATCH]

My father whom a few have met or hiked with has been on a solo canoe trip in the Quetico Park in Ontario, Canada. I received an I'm ok last night and my Step Mom received a good night. Some time today spot received an SOS and forwarded it to the provincial authorities who are hoping to get to him before nightfall. Obviously we won't know anything until they get to him. He has had a spot for years and does a lot of solo stuff and is always well prepared so I doubt it is an accidental sos (with a second generation) my last spot has him on an island where he had been staying the past couple days which surprised my Step Mom because he had a reasonably extensive itinerary. Please keep him in your prayers and send positive thoughts.

[Sun_Ray]

Hope you hear good news soon.

[big_load]

I hope it was just something like equipment failure. A boat problem in Quetico could be quite a predicament.

[sneakySASQUATCH]

Update: They found my father and he is ok. Apparently, there was a severe storm in the area and despite being secured his canoe was blown away. He is in an area where it would be impossible to hike out. According to the communication center they made contact and were trying to locate his canoe by air. I received another I'm ok after they made contact, but we haven't heard wether they were bringing him back or reuniting him with his canoe. I suspect the 3 days in the same place was him either trying to locate the canoe or hoping somebody would paddle by. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers. This does illustrate the limitations of the spot over other devices with communicating what is going on. I know several people that have given their recipients different codes using the buttons to mean different things. My Step Mom still thinks this is the best gift I've ever given both of them. Fact is my dad wasn't getting out of there on his own, but maybe the In Reach for this situation would be a better option? I know a non emergent come get me would have been impossible. Even that message goes to my wife and a buddy with 4 wheel drive because of the places I hike. I bought him the spot about the time my wife bought mine because my Dad like me does a majority of his activities solo. Thanks again for the positive vibes.

[big_load]

I'm glad he's OK! Finding a canoe under those circumstances could be hard, especially if it washed/blew up against a shoreline, obscured by overhanging trees and bushes.

[RowdyandMe]

Great news, My family talked me into a Spot and I love it. It has come handy for me on those hike I know will take longer than I told them.

[sneakySASQUATCH]

So it appears my father must have been reunited with his canoe because I'm continuing to receive I'm ok messages from the same Island. We never got a follow up after contact was made as to the result.
I have a question for anyone on the site with respect to the In Reach. I have fallen short of calling their customer service, but in reading the details and features it says that anyone added to the users' whatever can ping the device and get coordinates. So it seems like family could ping the device and there wouldn't really be a reason for tracking bread crumbs to be sent every 10 minutes. I initially thought the Spot Gen 3 had custom oneway texting options, but it appears the only upgrade in this model is choosing tracking intervals. I'm thankful for my father having the spot and being able to get help. I know him well enough to know he obviously is continuing his trip and is ok, but this incident along with misunderstandings when I have been overdue are leading me to reevaluate. I know Lots of people with spots, but no one with an In Reach and would like to hear their take. I think the basic plan would be similar to the spot with some advantages, but the ability to move up service for a month when your doing a big trip might be nice?

[Grasshopper]

..but the ability to move up service for a month when your doing a big trip might be nice?

Happy to hear your dad is Ok and continuing his trip. He is a tough guy and you inherited the same I'm curious what you meant by "the ability to move up service for a month" ?

[sneakySASQUATCH]

@Grasshopper
We actually don't know what's going on because there was no follow up after the contact was made and they notified us he is ok and they were going to make an attempt to locate the canoe. He is sending daily I'm ok messages from the same island he has been at for 5 days.

Anyway, according to the website on annual or the more expensive no contract plans you could move up to a more comprehensive plan with more two way texts or unlimited if you were going to be gone for an extended period. It costs to move back down to a lower level of service. On the basic for 11.95 you get SOS, unlimited preset messages, tracking 10 minute intervals, 10 two way texts. Tracking points and pinging from someone on the account would be .10 and going over 10 texts ( not preset would be .50), but if you were going to be gone for a week or two you could go to a higher plan with unlimited texts or pings. It would then cost a fee to move back to your standard. I don't know what tracking points are on the basic plan. They have a couple models including one with GPS and you get access to the deformed maps etc., but I'd be a little concerned with battery life if your using the same device as your GPS as well.
I'm not worried at this point about my father being ok, but I'm sure my Step Mom would be happier with a text updating his itinerary since he has been in the same place for 5 days.

[CannondaleKid]

I'm not worried at this point about my father being ok, but I'm sure my Step Mom would be happier with a text updating his itinerary since he has been in the same place for 5 days.

While I'm sure it is not the case here, it brought to mind a what if scenario:

What if someone is attacked/robbed/kidnapped and someone other than the SPOT owner is sending an I'm Ok signal when, in fact the owner is NOT Ok? (Deliverance comes to mind)

To me, this would be one point in favor of at least some rudimentary type of 2-way communication, where a query could include a keyword asking for another keyword response to verify the situation is truly Ok. And also, in a case like MtnBart's father, an update to the original itinerary.

Personally, if I were ever to feel the conditions warranted and I could afford the ongoing fees (ongoing even if I'm not hiking for days or weeks at a time), I'd probably look into a 2-way type of communicator.

Who knows, maybe one of the upcoming SmartPhone generations might have that capability? (Just as they may be biting into the GPS market now, it could take a bite into the SPOT/PLIB business as well.)

[sneakySASQUATCH]

@CannondaleKidWe finally spoke to the pilot and they located his boat and took him to it. He was disappointed in the lost days as I suspected he spent three days attempting to locate the canoe before hitting the SOS. While I could see the deliverance type scenario, he was sending the Ok and and the goodnight messages to my stepmom at the specified intervals so I'm not too worried. He has another 2-3 weeks and I would be surprised if she didn't upgrade him to a 2 way capable device for the next trip. With kids and mostly hiking locally the spot seems to work fine as I usually have intermittent cell service from high points, but 2-3 week trips I could see the value of two way.

[outdoor_lover]

Glad to hear he's ok Joel...Always scary when someone who is very savvy and capable has to push that Button....

[Tough_Boots]

@MtnBart01

Really glad to hear its all worked out. I think for someone doing trips like your dad for extended periods (especially in the water), a satellite phone would be the way to go. I think there are plans now where you can buy minutes with an expiration date-- 60 minutes that you have a year to use or something like that.

[RedRoxx44]

I have a Global star Sat phone I am happy with. Excellent voice quality. I have used the shorter minute packages, will be going to a yearly plan soon with the minimum minutes as I really don't need it most of the time. It's an older one; I got a good deal on Amazon. It's a must for me, my mom doesn't text so she really needs to hear my voice!

[sneakySASQUATCH]

Update: I got my dad's itinerary the day before yesterday after my step mom called with concerns. I hadn't received an ok message, but she received two more nightly good night messages from the same Island where he had been for a total of a week. It's odd that I didn't receive ok messages on those days. The plan she sent me had 34 different lakes some with portages some connected with small waterways. Based on the spot messages I saw that he only did one portage between two lakes and after that he went east rather than south like his itinerary indicated. In looking back at the weather there was thunderstorms for the first three days so his route may not have been feasible with large whitecaps. Last spot yesterday showed him on that second lake with one more portage so it appears he is headed for his put in. His one man canoe is Kevlar, but he may have had to do some field repairs on it after being blown away in the storm before he could head back with 3+ weeks worth of gear. This possibility and the fact that he finally moved after a week made her a little more at ease.

[big_load]

... his route may not have been feasible with large whitecaps.

Yes, paddling solo into heavy wind can go from difficult to impossible, even skirting the shore. Once Mrs. big_load and I pulled for three hours with everything we had just to cross a mile and a half of open water, and that was just with little baby whitecaps.

Whatever route he chooses, I hope he gets some enjoyment from the rest of his trip. Those days before he got the boat back must have been pretty stressful.