Although this page is titled A Few Thoughts On Getting Un-Screwed, the best defense is always a good offense. As mentioned elsewhere in this blog "My philosophy has always been, if you are epicing you are doing
it wrong!" Translated that means - take extra care to not get yourself and/or others into a screwed situation in the first place. That said sometimes shit really does 'just' happen.
Ok, this is a tough one. Being who I am, I always felt I could/should get out of whatever I got into. And for decades that was just fine. A couple of years ago I was out on a winter trip in the not-very-deep backcountry just for the day and my partner inexplicably collapsed and shortly thereafter went into convulsions. We were barely a mile from the road and yet I could not leave him and go for help because he was thrashing about and several times had worked himself downhill into stands of trees where he was getting beat up pretty badly and it was very difficult to extract him. So I had to hold him down in the snow and could not leave.
The story eventually had a happy ending with the help of a handful of passersby, but it really set me to thinking. Had I an emergency beacon getting a rescue started would have been far quicker and easier. And truth be told, I'm not getting any younger either. So a few months ago (as of 4/2019) I finally purchased a Garmin Inreach mini. I won't go into all the features but it allows those at home to track me when I'm out by myself on longer trips and the 2 way texting feature is useful not only in an emergency but in non-emergency situations where I may simply be late. Thankfully I haven't had to use it for an emergency but have used the tracking and texting features. You can also choose plans whereby you pay only for when you need to use it, with a 30 day minimum instead of a full annual contract. Perhaps it's worth it just from the stance of the peace of mind it gives to those that are expecting you to come back.
Full disclosure: In the story related above it is VERY
doubtful that I would have had the Garmin available to use even if I
owned one then since it was 'merely a day trip'. But I might now...Ok, this is a tough one. Being who I am, I always felt I could/should get out of whatever I got into. And for decades that was just fine. A couple of years ago I was out on a winter trip in the not-very-deep backcountry just for the day and my partner inexplicably collapsed and shortly thereafter went into convulsions. We were barely a mile from the road and yet I could not leave him and go for help because he was thrashing about and several times had worked himself downhill into stands of trees where he was getting beat up pretty badly and it was very difficult to extract him. So I had to hold him down in the snow and could not leave.
The story eventually had a happy ending with the help of a handful of passersby, but it really set me to thinking. Had I an emergency beacon getting a rescue started would have been far quicker and easier. And truth be told, I'm not getting any younger either. So a few months ago (as of 4/2019) I finally purchased a Garmin Inreach mini. I won't go into all the features but it allows those at home to track me when I'm out by myself on longer trips and the 2 way texting feature is useful not only in an emergency but in non-emergency situations where I may simply be late. Thankfully I haven't had to use it for an emergency but have used the tracking and texting features. You can also choose plans whereby you pay only for when you need to use it, with a 30 day minimum instead of a full annual contract. Perhaps it's worth it just from the stance of the peace of mind it gives to those that are expecting you to come back.
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