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Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Hikers Evacuated After Three SPOT Activations In Three Days

On the evening of September 23rd, rangers began a search for hikers who repeatedly activated their rented SPOT satellite tracking device. The GEOS Emergency Response Center in Houston reported that someone in the group of four hikers – two men and their two teenaged sons – had pressed the "help" button on their SPOT unit. The coordinates for the signal placed the group in a remote section of the park, most likely on the challenging Royal Arch loop. Due to darkness and the remoteness of the location, rangers were unable to reach them via helicopter until the following morning. When found, they'd moved about a mile and a half to a water source. They declined rescue, as they'd activated the device due to their lack of water. Later that same evening, the same SPOT device was again activated, this time using the "911" button. Coordinates placed them less than a quarter mile from the spot where searchers had found them that morning. Once again, nightfall prevented a response by park helicopter, so an Arizona DPS helicopter whose crew utilized night vision goggles was brought in. They found that the members of the group were concerned about possible dehydration because the water they'd found tasted salty, but no actual emergency existed. The helicopter crew declined their request for a night evacuation, but provided them with water before departing. On the following morning, another SPOT "help" activation came in from the group. This time they were flown out by park helicopter. All four refused medical assessment or treatment. The group's leader had reportedly hiked once at the Grand Canyon; the other adult had no Grand Canyon and very little backpacking experience. When asked what they would have done without the SPOT device, the leader stated, "We would have never attempted this hike." The group leader was issued a citation for creating a hazardous condition (36 CFR 2.34(a)(4)).

Caca occurs to even the most well-prepared hikers. Someone can get hit by a rattlesnake, attacked by a bear/cougar/rabid fox/cow, or suffer a torn ACL. I have no problem with people using a SPOT to get rescued if caca occurs, but obviously the morons in the Grand Canyon abused the system.
As for people like the morons in the Grand Canyon...what if they used the SPOT in a frivolous manner and then declined rescue, but somehow got into a life-threatening situation that they had no part in causing afterwards? I would not want them to die.
However, it is essential to have a safety contact. It is essential to communicate your route, timing, etc., and stick to it.
It is also essential to stay within one's limits.
Additionally, it is also essential to be prepared for any eventuality one can prepare for. I carry a "space sleeping bag" thingy that I would crawl into were I to fall incapacitated, enough food/snackies to make it through a night at least, and a well-stocked first aid kit. I don't carry rattlesnake antivenom. That being written, people don't deserve to die because they are stupid no matter how much they aren't as prepared as they should be. However, they should be made to pay for their stupidity monetarily and/or being banned from going into the backcountry.
Heck, even the strongest and most prepared hiker can become incapacitated by a falling tree limb. Or stung by bees. Or hit by a rattler. The SPOT allows people who are well-prepared, but unlucky, to get back to their loved ones.

nonot wrote:
Also, another difficult and painful option, Lon could have splinted his leg and made a slow and painful butt-scoot back to a trailhead himself over a period of 2-3 days.

Late April of 1983 I fell and blew my knee out, off trail, high in Fish Creek Canyon of the Superstitions. It took me three hours to butt-scoot down to the bottom of the canyon to water and safety. I went back to that "fall" location years later and hiked/climbed down in twenty minutes to where I reached the water and safety. Please rethink how long it would take you to butt-scoot out to a trailhead on a trail that has no water!

Also as the current Sheriff of Pinal County is no longer going to have access to Superstition Search and Rescue. His choice not theirs. He is going to have to find some way to fund a new search and rescue Posse and helicopter of his own. I.E. he will now have to begin to charge for rescues in the Superstitions and the rest of his county area. So who are you going to call for assistance in Pinal County?
Superstition Search and Rescue (SSAR) and the DPS helicopter or the Sheriff of Pinal County?

All comments are interesting. I just want to add that the search team I've trained with practiced hauling people out on a backboard, and I'll bet other teams do as well. One time we waited half a day for a helicopter to arrive at Bear Creek (Black River) trailhead for someone with a broken ankle who was only 2 miles down the trail. We could have had her out in a couple hours, tops, on the backboard. We thought she must have suffered needlessly all those hours, waiting for the copter. This was not our call to make, unfortunately. I have heard of these copter rescues around Phx. and Tucson and have often wondered why the backboard has not been employed if there are plenty of strong SAR people to switch off carrying it, and if it is less than 2 miles, and if it is going to take less time than waiting for the copter.

A friend of mine got bitten by a rattler on the Ventana Canyon Trail and waited 6 hours for the copter, although W-EMTs arrived very quickly, and even though that trail is right next to a major city. It was a Mojave rattler, she could not have walked out as she was not able to walk at all--she was barely conscious.

I guess the topic of backboards vs. expensive (and slow) copters is sort of off-topic, but it does address how to save some time and money in a legitimate rescue close to the trailhead.

nonot wrote:Ah, the old, "we already waste trillions each year, what's a half billion more wasted?" argument. You'd make a great politician. I'm glad those folks enjoyed their $40000 bottled water, let's do that for everyone! plz:

There's a difference between obvious waste (your bottled water example) and something that costs money but is effective at its stated goal (SAR). If the government didn't spend money on good but expensive things, we wouldn't have National Parks, a lot of our Endangered Species, etc.

google el capitan(36 CFR 2.34(a)(4)). or Accidents in North America Mountaineering 1997.

The El Capitan case... the guys pleaded quilty to the above citation and paid rescue costs of 13-14k. You can argue every case both ways...maybe except the title thread case.

Goverment wastes money...like the last 3 letters in my screen name wastes money. I tell her I wish I could afford a $3 bottle of water or a $5 coffee. Not that I drink coffee but you get the point.

Dang I love that $5 coffee. But I sure have cut back on it this year! I drink it about once every couple of months.

I have nothing against use of funds for helicopters, etc. I was only trying to point out that sometimes the backboard is quicker, and it is, of course, always cheaper.

Used regularly at Squaw & Camelback which is a heck of a lot more difficult terrain than a majority of out of city hikes.

azbackpackr wrote:I guess the topic of backboards vs. expensive (and slow) copters is sort of off-topic, but it does address how to save some time and money in a legitimate rescue close to the trailhead.

Actually it is relevant, for example, Denali NP was considering getting rid of their helicopter and only doing ground rescues in order to cut their costs by 75% (to 25%). However, instead of doing that they are deciding to charge every climber a $300 entrance fee permit.

So because past climbers went in and did stuff over their head and nearly bit it (and some did), everyone else has to pay $300 bones for the privilege of being there.

I hope everyone will be happy when the fee boxes return to the Superstitions, after all, that's what y'all seem to want.

Like I mentioned before worth it if it does actually save lives of people who are in trouble, which it does, and Im sure you're attitude would change nonot if you are ever in the same position as Lon.
Butt scoot out of Rough Canyon???!!! Please...
The only reason I dont agree with you nonot is that I want SAR people out there and looking for me if I do ever run into legitimate trouble, and I want them out there looking for me. Don't accuse me of being anything like these people because I want someone looking for me if I break an ankle.

I think you would probably make the better politician nonot, because you like most politicians are trying to put a $ sign on LIFE. If 50 people who are in Lon's situation are rescued by SAR, then that money is not a "WASTE" as you claim it is, heck if just one person in that situation is saved by SAR it is not a "waste". Otherwise please tell me how much money is a human life worth???

Plus, many SAR operations are volunteer (SSAR), how many of your tax dollars go to SSAR? NONE. So your argument that it costs us an outrageous number of tax payer dollars is largely moot. Find some hard stats that back up that claim of $500 million. You want to stop taxpayer waste tell our prez and congressmen that you want the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan!

nonot wrote:I hope everyone will be happy when the fee boxes return to the Superstitions, after all, that's what y'all seem to want.

In response to this. I'm sure EVERYONE here would be glad to pay $4 if the decision was to A. pay a fee for the trailhead or B. discontinue all SAR activities in the superstitions.


Come on. That $4 would be a pain, and Id complain too, but SAR is more important. After all, that is less than the gas money you spent to get to the trailhead, and the after hike delight that you will enjoy on the way back home. Once again, would you rather pay $4 each time you hike from 2 trailhead, or have people die who could have been saved?

I would support big fines for incorrect use of the Spot if enforced and not subject to huge lawsuits by parties trying to up the ante.
I don't carry a rescue device but I will not say I never will. I have told various people please never initiate a SAR for me. There are the Lon's of the world that were fortunate and had a successful rescue for a legitimate unlucky circumstance; then there are the Joe Simpson's, Aaron Ralston's that self rescued partially ( I won't get into the wisdom of decisions on either part).
Every circumstance is different. I know a hiker who broke his ankle in Utah and it took him three days to hobble out to a road, then hitchhike to assistance. Another person might have stayed there and waited, maybe rescued, maybe not.
Another canyoneer broke his lower leg in a canyon in utah and his brother climbed out and initiated a rescue, that was successful, as climbing was out of the question.
I guess you have to decide when you set foot on that trail----what if something happens??? how am I prepared---

azbackpackr wrote:All comments are interesting. I just want to add that the search team I've trained with practiced hauling people out on a backboard, and I'll bet other teams do as well. One time we waited half a day for a helicopter to arrive at Bear Creek (Black River) trailhead for someone with a broken ankle who was only 2 miles down the trail. We could have had her out in a couple hours, tops, on the backboard. We thought she must have suffered needlessly all those hours, waiting for the copter. This was not our call to make, unfortunately. I have heard of these copter rescues around Phx. and Tucson and have often wondered why the backboard has not been employed if there are plenty of strong SAR people to switch off carrying it, and if it is less than 2 miles, and if it is going to take less time than waiting for the copter.

A friend of mine got bitten by a rattler on the Ventana Canyon Trail and waited 6 hours for the copter, although W-EMTs arrived very quickly, and even though that trail is right next to a major city. It was a Mojave rattler, she could not have walked out as she was not able to walk at all--she was barely conscious.

I guess the topic of backboards vs. expensive (and slow) copters is sort of off-topic, but it does address how to save some time and money in a legitimate rescue close to the trailhead.

Those people were probably NOT EMT's. They had a wilderness first aid certification. They don't want to haul a backboard because they are not required to because they get away with ignoring SAEMS protocols precisely because they are not pre-hospital trained professionals. They have a wheeled basket litter, but lugging someone down even a very well-groomed trail with that thing requires multiple people and will almost always result in at least some minor injury to the rescuer. It can't be avoided. The physics of the situation dictate that you throw good body alignment totally to the wind and wrestle that thing down without further injuring the patient.

Part of it might be a desire to avoid carrying the person out, as well. I have heard first-hand accounts from firefighters and medics who showed up at those Catalina Front Range trail heads to intercept a patient from the SAR group down here only to have that group tell the firefighters that they should abandon their vehicles and go get the person (A hilarious and completely ignorant request.) Yes, this has happened numerous times. Why the heck did the SAR group even show up, you ask? I have no idea, either...

One more point of fact - helicopter rescues are NOT slower; especially if they are close to the city. If the person is injured critically enough, the group is simply going to haul them out far enough for the bird to get a good touchdown or lifting area. There is a very good reason we regularly use medivac in highway and other trauma cases - it's *always* faster.

The way it was described makes me think that this was not a priority patient that the group had called the bird in to get. Instead, they were using the bird to transfer the person to a distant facility for care. That makes sense, considering doing so with a ground unit would tie that unit up for hours or even an entire day. If the patient was stable, they'd just wait until an air unit was free...

Before I comment further I have to, rhetorically, ask: "Why does all of this stuff always go on at the GC?!"

I'd like to make a few points, in succession:
1) That guy was an idiot and should have been thrown in jail; yes - jail. This is in the same league with filing a false police report and should be just as illegal.
2) I can't agree more with the comments about personal responsibility.
3) I don't think the mere possession of a SPOT induces a person to behave more recklessly; but there's always an exception and this guy was it.

I own a SPOT and mainly use it to let family track my progression because they already know my plans and when to be worried before-hand. Lots of you guys younger than I will someday understand what it is like to have a wife that worries...and, yes - ALL wives worry! If my cell phone would do the job I would have never bought the thing because it's yet another device sucking away precious battery power.

I have my HELP activation setup to let specific friends and family members know that I'm injured and trying to self-rescue. If they get it from the same position two times in a row, medically trained friends will come and get me. I would rather injure myself further in a self-rescue or inconvenience my buddies (They'd do the same for me ;) ) than have some SAR group come looking for me...especially near Tucson. I actually have a note on the back of my SPOT that instructs someone that finds me down and unresponsive to press and hold the "911" button because that is the only time that button will ever get pushed that I can conceive of.

There's a lot of tough talk in this thread that makes me want to remind everyone of a simple fact: If you engage in backcountry sports long enough, something will go wrong.

Lots of good points brought up here. In the case of my friend on the Ventana Trail, it was at least 10 or 15 years ago, so things may have changed a lot with helicopter service since that time. The copter took very long to get there, she says, and she definitely could have died waiting. She almost did die, in fact, in the hospital.

In the case of the busted ankle on the Black River, I don't know why it took so long except there are not a lot of helicopters around here that are just sitting by, ready to go get someone. I do think in that case it might have been a better call to let us go get her with our backboard, and a local ambulance could have made it to the trailhead in less than one hour.

Also I think there's a difference between a SAR team that frequently trains with a backboard, off-trail, in rocky, brushy, steep terrain, with one of our (trusting) members acting as a "patient" strapped on the board, and a local fire dept. that has never practiced doing that. If the group has a lot of practice at it, then they know what they can safely do, and what they can't do.

I think the biggest issue nowadays is who activates the medivac. I'm not sure the local group can do it so the sheriff personnel have to request it. That makes for a pretty big delay if the request is not entered immediately upon receipt of the call by the PCSD Park Enforcement guys.

If we are really serious as a society about protecting people in the front-country (I think the Catalinas qualify) we would just switch to what has worked in the most extreme and austere circumstances on the plant since the Korean War for the US Military - All critically wounded are medivaced by a crew of paramedics. Very expensive, but far superior in every aspect.

Oh, one more thing...On another forum they were talking about how the PS could ban that bozo from the GC for five years or whatever. I don't think that would be a huge deterrent, either. Does anyone honestly think he'd return after this, anyway? What I did hear about a group doing one time with one of these bozos was making the person show up after all of the resources involved in the rescue had met somewhere and having him walk the line and personally apologize to each member of the team, etc, for putting their lives at risk and wasting their time. My understanding was that the Las Vegas County Sheriff told him it was that or jail. Maybe that would be effective, here...

A few facts for you to consider:

1) Superstition Search and Rescue (SSAR) uses a stokes basket with a wheel and I have often assisted in carrying it. They also have a non wheel version that is available if they are involved in a second callout or have a second subject that needs to be carried. This non wheel version is what they sometimes use if there is to be a long line lift off the mountain to the base camp at the respective trailhead. They also have a soft version of a stokes for the same purpose.

2) Pinal County has no helicopter.

3) Maricopa County I believe has only one helicopter. Please correct me if I am wrong.

4. DPS has only four helicopters for the entire State and one of those four is normally down for maintenance.

5. Grand Canyon NPS has multiple helicopters but they are very very busy.

Also it is my understanding that the pay boxes that used to be at the two trailheads in the Superstitions generated very little revenue in respect to what it cost to maintain them. They had to be checked and emptied every day by a private company and the vandalism to them was also very costly.

Jeff MacE wrote:Lots of you guys younger than I will someday understand what it is like to have a wife that worries...and, yes - ALL wives worry! If my cell phone would do the job I would have never bought the thing because it's yet another device sucking away precious battery power.

What worries me is when my wife asks if the life insurance is paid. My wife worries that I could have a stroke or heart attack on a hike which is why she makes me carry these devices. On some hikes I carry my PLB on others I carry a GlobalStar Satphone. I have had a situation where I could not get a satphone signal to the GlobalStar satellites but my buddy was able to get a text message to his wife on his cellphone. I'm sure if I had moved to a different location I could have obtained a satphone signal - but sometimes you can't move to a different location. If SPOT uses the GlobalStar satellites, that concerns me. The PLBs use the NOAA satellites.

There's a lot of tough talk in this thread that makes me want to remind everyone of a simple fact: If you engage in backcountry sports long enough, something will go wrong.

Lots of things go wrong all the time. It's just a matter of time before something serious goes wrong and then how one is trained and prepared for that event.
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." Douglas Adams

SuperstitionGuy wrote:A few facts for you to consider:

1) Superstition Search and Rescue (SSAR) uses a stokes basket with a wheel and I have often assisted in carrying it. They also have a non wheel version that is available if they are involved in a second callout or have a second subject that needs to be carried. This non wheel version is what they sometimes use if there is to be a long line lift off the mountain to the base camp at the respective trailhead. They also have a soft version of a stokes for the same purpose.

2) Pinal County has no helicopter.

3) Maricopa County I believe has only one helicopter. Please correct me if I am wrong.

4. DPS has only four helicopters for the entire State and one of those four is normally down for maintenance.

5. Grand Canyon NPS has multiple helicopters but they are very very busy.

Also it is my understanding that the pay boxes that used to be at the two trailheads in the Superstitions generated very little revenue in respect to what it cost to maintain them. They had to be checked and emptied every day by a private company and the vandalism to them was also very costly.

I have no idea if Maricopa has only one bird, someone else might know for sure. The wheeled litter is the same one the group down here has. It's fine over even ground but really horrible after a long period of hauling or on any kind of angle. What's more, a lot more of our patient population are heavyset...yes, even outdoors. Maybe even more-so since they are more likely to have an acute medical issue on the trail...