Maybe I am just being dense but I still don't get it. If you are out in the wilderness, what is a "non-life threatening emergency"? (Actually, forget the wilderness part. If I am in the city, what is a "non-life threatening emergency"?)
Can someone provide an example scenario?
in 2010 my daughter fainted on the trail down to Woods Creek. Just tipped over while sitting next to me. Came back a moment later, but we were pretty rattled. Would have loved to talk to a medical professional to double check what could be wrong with her. It wasn't a reason to call the rescue posse, as we walked out over Whitney a few days later (where she fainted again in the Portal Store...). Never really figured out what happened those days, but it was always at moments of rest.
That episode was the reason why I let my Spot subscription expire and bought a sat phone. I now have nurse # and SAR and Sheriff numbers programmed into the phone. I can send and receive texts for weather updates and other basic communication, but when I have to, I can actually talk to somebody who may be able to help. The phone has GPS, and I have another GPS, so sending location info is going to be quite accurate, too.
If I hiked alone, always, I probably would get some sort of locator device, but in a group, the phone works well for us, plus it comes in handy for things like trailhead rendezvous scheduling, or calling a tow truck from US 6 between Ely and Tonopah.
