Wowā¦fantastic shots! Looks like youāre in a henge somewhereā¦
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Yesā¦@jbmanning5ā¦I was thinking the same thingā¦you being alone out there. Rio couldnāt help in any way if heās kenneled back at your RVā¦even if heās cooler than Lassie!
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Um, yeahā¦heh heh. 
Something you get used to, though. We love the deserts as wellā¦especially here in Oregon.
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Oh, where is that roof?
Seriously @jbmanning5 I do hope you can let folk know when you are off alone. " Iāve fallen and canāt get up" is no joke in that country.
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He could end up like that guy who wound up cutting his arm off with his jacknife to get out from under a rock he was trapped by a few years ago. (Donāt recall the name but heās on the motivational speaker circuit now.)
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I can imagine 
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Turns out it was way longer ago than I remembered (I must be getting really old 
)
On one hand I give him credit for the cajones he demonstrated but mostly his story pisses me off. I spent years teaching kids and adults how to responsibly visit the backcountry. This guy broke every rule - did not have the 10 essentials with him, no hiking plan, didnāt tell anyone where he was going or when heād be back, no means of calling for helpā¦
I used to do SAR work and almost inevitably it was caused by stupid. Only rarely was it because someone who was properly prepared got caught in bad circumstances.
@jbmanning5 - hereās a personal locator beacon:
https://www.amazon.com/PLB-375-ResQLink-Buoyant-Personal-Locator/dp/B006JXY0CQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549933156&sr=8-2&keywords=epirb
The price has gone up since I bought my last one (the battery is good for 5 years) but itās well worth the goodness. I carry one on me when Iām backpacking and even when Iām on a long-distance motorcycle ride. (I keep this one on me so if Iām off the bike I can still call for help when Iām out of range of cell towers.)
The other piece of tracking gear I carry is one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Satellite-GPS-Messenger-Orange/dp/B00C8S8S4W/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1549933156&sr=8-17&keywords=epirb
This one requires a subscription that makes it kind of pricey. But it will send pings every few minutes so people at home can follow your progress. I have one of these mounted to the bike. There is an SOS facility that will call SAR as well although itās not quite as global as the 406 beacon. It also allows for a couple of other messages that you can transmit - so when I stop for more than a few minutes Iāll send the āIām OK, just stoppingā message. Thereās also another message option you can set that I use for āIām not able to call for help and I need some, but itās not life-threatening so donāt send in the helicopters.ā
I figure itās my responsibility to the people at home to make sure I can let someone know I need help before Iām dead Unless of course I am suddenly dead but thatās a whole 'nother thing.
I used to carry a Sat phone when I was backpacking the AT/CDT but I found it didnāt work enough times (even on mountain tops above the tree line with nothing in the way of the signal for miles) that I gave it up - it was expensive false security.
< end soapbox rant >
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PREACH IT!
I completely agree. And what did he get for his large dose of stupid?
A speaking circuit.
Lot of cajones, to be sure. I mean, he got out alive, so there is that. And thatās good.
But 10 essentials, buddy system, and tell somebody where you plan to be and for how long.
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Too many people donāt have the sense that was common 100 years ago. You can get dead pretty easily in the backcountry. We need more people to get eaten by bears or something so everyone knows they need to be careful out there.
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Back in my IT days I had a couple of Danish employees. We were at Home Depot with them one time shopping for a chainsaw, and they noticed the warning label that says not to touch the blade while it was running. They wanted to know why the company would put a warning on their product about something that was just basic common sense, and I said it was to avoid lawsuits when stupid people cut off their hands.
They couldnāt believe anyone would have the gall to sue for something like that, and said if a Dane ever did something that stupid not only would he not file a lawsuit, but he would just bleed to death rather than seek treatment and have to admit to having done something so stupid. 
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I think I like Danes 
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Iāve never met a Dane I didnāt like.
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Eh. Heās more likely to pull me down face first over a rock
It was a reasonably safe place to be (not in the boonies) in the event something happened - and near impossible to get lostā¦ as in, if you got lost (actually, real lost), you donāt need to be out there, as the entire thing is encompassed by roadway
Iām pretty good with knowing my limits, though things can and always do happen. That said, Iām no expert in this area (I claim expertise in very few areas)ā¦ someone generally knows where I am and where Iām going, and to send the cavalry if itās a very unreasonable amount of time since Iāve checked in.
How cool! I havenāt made plans that far ahead for this year yet; Iām debating North Woods of Minnesota (BWCA area) for at least late summer and into fall. Iāve spent a lot of time up there already though, but itās good to see familyā¦ the fishing is amazing. BWCA trips are amazing. I will definitely let you know though. Iāve only done a little bit of time in Oregon (Cannon Beach area) and it was really beautiful. But it was so packed! Iām horrible at making reservations. Itās come close to biting me a time or three, but Iāve always lucked out.
Pretty much haha. Dumping straight out of the tanks isnāt bad, but I have a smaller, portable 18-gallon tank, if Iām set up in an area for a couple of weeks. Hey, I like my showersā¦ that can get a little messy to use, but I try to only use it for gray water!
Itās an interesting placeā¦ about a mile elevation, but basically foothills, just south of the whole Gila Wilderness area. Itās basically a large deposit of volcanic rocks right out in the middle of the valley. The volcanic activity has added such interesting things to the whole landscape out this way.
Thatās actually really cool. Iāve looked at them before but always ran into the whole subscription thing.
Pretty much. Not always but if I were a betting manā¦ The Aron Ralston movie is called 127 Hours, I think. Iāve seen it before. I canāt say that I would have done what he did, but we generally donāt know what we will do until put into a situation.
Money is a helluva motivator.
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Oh. And I guess keeping with the theme of pictures, here is one from tonight with the moon throwing (fine, reflecting) a little more light out. (The other pictures werent moonlightā¦ they were an off-camera LED floodlight) This isnāt the actual City of Rocks that I was in last night. This is a bit further off, and smaller. Suburb of Rocks!
A little light pollution (Las Cruces and El Paso - 80-100 miles as the crow flies), a few stars, some rocks, a couple of airplanes.
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S.t.u.n.n.i.n.g 
colorsā¦
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The Spots & InReach types are trackers first & beacons second. The subscription pays for the tracking. Since they rely on other communication tech, they donāt always work in a Hail-Mary scenario.
The PLBs are only locator beacons. But theyāre satellite based and monitored by global SAR agencies (USAF here) so no hand-off between folks getting the messages and the scramble teams. The trackers go through a couple of layers before it gets to someone who will then scramble help. They also have a local beacon feature so when rescuers get close they can home in precisely. And the batteries have to be good for 5 years storage and then operate for at least 24hrs pinging. No tracking but if you need life-saving help theyāll get the job done.
I carry both because sometimes I may be in need of help but not the level of helicopters. The trackers let me get a help message out that my folks back home can then use to get local LEO help (tow trucks, non-laser threatening medical) when the cellphone doesnāt work.
Belts & suspenders. I like to be not dead
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Well hereās a little motivator: https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/oregon-usor.htm
Iām a few blocks from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjIj9rz3rbgAhXGzKQKHcycAYEQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSt._Johns_Bridge&psig=AOvVaw2MOLiAGu2lsIxeA3PXhbex&ust=1550079668375445
and this is my favorite thinking spot (the granite dome on the right):
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiDwKuc37bgAhWmsqQKHQBnCrwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmikeputnamphoto.com%2Fproduct%2Fcolumbia-river-gorge%2F&psig=AOvVaw2OofdE9Z760Fz6lMkZPzyq&ust=1550079728445847
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Speaking of which, Rio somehow caught his tie out lead on the valve of the black tank while hooking up to move this AM. He didnāt release the valve but he did snap stuff. I guess you can figure out what Iām doing later todayā¦
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oh bummer! I never understood why they made the handles and valves on those things so dinky! I broke a handle one time because the valve was frozen shut and I pulled too hard. had to use a pair of vise grips until it was warm enough to replace the whole thing. Hope your day goes better from here!
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