Bee, I'm sticking with my opinion here, that if Larry Conn had used a SPOT or similar on his last day hiking, even two tracking points would have shown that he was coming out heading to the trail head. A tracking point in his last 12 hours of hiking would have been a huge clue. He posted regularly on the HST forum, and talked about never following a planned itinerary. So a signal would have helped. You give specific itineraries and exit times. Others always hike with one or more friends. Everyone has their methods. It is the lone hiker with a variable itinerary who is really difficult to track down.
nyker, as I pointed out above, signals can be way off when you're down in a canyon area like Whitney Portal. SPOTs do the same thing there -- that is if they can even transmit a signal.
As for that "true wilderness" experience, THAT is a personal judgement call. I kind of adopt whatever high-tech device I can get my hands on to help me get where I want. One could be a purist like John Muir: No map, no bedding, only a bag of biscuits. Though he probably wore boots, while the Indians might have worn moccasins ...or even traveled barefoot.
