This article/topic has worked its way out of the backcountry discussion circle into the mainstream media, as it was a featured NPR topic, tonight. As a solo hiker/Bp'r who carries a SPOT, I am finding myself to be even more diligent in my planning since this story broke, as I don't want to even consider the "mommy button" (love this) to be an option. This last summer,I found myself in the middle of a situation where one of the hikers in our group was suffering severe AMS(delirious), hypoxia(blue around the mouth, face, hands),& dehydration(from vomiting)while another hiker had SPOT, I think we were all stymied by "how bad IS bad enough for 911". Eventually, the hiker was stabilized by my force-feeding schedule of Gatorade/water; however, the period between delirium and stability was a long, scary period of time that could have ended very differently. Every so often I ask "should we have pressed the button?" It's easy to say "no" when I know the results. I hope to never be placed in that position again.
(BTW, there were much in the way of mistakes and bad judgement that allowed for the situation to escalate that the point that it did, however, my point of interest still lies with the "how bad is bad enough")
B
