A Cautionary Tale

[daznkez]

With the ongoing threads on solo walking I thought this might bear telling.
This Wed just gone I headed out to Lk Skinner car park, intending to head up to Skinner and the higher range. The weather was atrocious and good snow was rumored on the peaks, just was I was after. I don't own an epirb, so made my rescue plan with the wife. The first few km's up the hill were a water course, and by the time I beat my way up to the small saddle down from the lake, the snow was thigh deep and the wind was screaming. I realized i wouldn't make it up to the lake and by now i was soaked, so i decided to find a spot for the Nallo. At this point, on the easiest of terrain with my pack on,i fell over badly and broke my leg. The shock of the implications was sensational. Thirty min of screaming didn't bring a divine rescue, and my dubious choice to bring the mobile( keeps her happy!)was reinforced with no service. I had another half hour of injury assessment panic, weather panic, and waiting till 8pm tomorrow for rescue panic. In the end I crawled and dragged myself down the hill and back to the car arriving sometime in the night, and with no mobile service drove myself to the edge of Geeveston for help. What really struck me that i hadn't considered is 1) Whether to stay and trying to predict the development of the injury, 2)the tricky decision on whether to crawl with or without your pack, in case you don't make it, 3)Is it worth aging your loved ones ten years for a bit of fun. I really should add how useful my gps on trackback was as a morale enhancer; when i couldn't go any more i could turn it on and see the car park getting closer. Glad I wasn't a few days out!

Daz

[the_camera_poser]

Hmmmm- so what do you have planned for the weekend? LOL

Sorry to hear of your injury- could have been worse, hey? Will you be back on the trail soon?

[flyfisher]

Geez mate that's a scary little story. Glad you could make it back, 'coz the other alternatives wouldn't have been much fun.
Makes the epirb or plb sound a bit cheaper.
Anyway glad you're safe and hope you mend quickly.

FF

[photohiker]

Glad you're ok!

Hmm. Now where do we buy those cheap PLB's again?

[Fizzygood]

Heading out in a few days for 7 to 10 days solo in the highlands... your sobering story reinforces my decision to hire en epirb!

Cheers, Erin

[Nuts]

Its interesting that everyone has mentioned an epirb(plb), given the choice, I would have rather had a (good old) walking partner in this situation....

[north-north-west]

Given the choice, I would rather have not fallen over. Although I do tend to do so a little more often than is consistent with safety, especially in the bush. One day, who knows . . .

It all comes down to risk assessment and responsibility.

[ILUVSWTAS]

That is a very scary story! VERY pleased to hear you got back safely in the end! I walk alone alot, and lake skinner/snowysth is my default walk as it's only a 15min drive from home! I just cant imagine what it must have been like!

[tasadam]

Also very pleased to hear you here to tell the tale.
Saw your entry in the logbooks recently at Arm River track and Pelion hut too, by the way.
Hey, at least now you have plenty of time to go through the countless threads on the forum that you haven't read...
I'm with Nuts, prefer to walk with someone - my wife.
It has got me thinking about a PLB again though.

[Fizzygood]

Walking solo will always be a topic of debate... I understand the safety of having a companion but this also removes the isolation, self reliance and to some degree, the risk, that I (and probably many other solo walkers) seek... I enjoy a certain element of risk, it stimulates me and pushes me to new places both mentally and physically! ....

Responsible solely for my own actions and the consequences thereof is how I like it sometimes!

Erin

[Nuts]

I walk solo a lot. I guess my point was that in This situation ^ an epirb may not have been much help. By the time a decision needs to be made Daz could be incapable of making it, incapable of activating the beacon, the beacon not work..., the S&R may (or not) be able to reach him in time.

To me, walking solo should be approached with the same caution as without any chance of outside help. I realise the personal choice to go solo (and the many reasons) though taking an epirb (PLB) implies that you will be prepared to put other peoples lives at risk (whether that is from the inherent dangers in getting a team to you or the fact that you are taking them away from any other situation on their list of priorities).

Personally, I Often choose not to carry a beacon (depending on where i'm going), I don't think I would activate it before i was incapable of doing so. I accept the outcome of not taking one. Spose what i'm getting at is that I wouldn't walk solo if the need to carry a beacon was the deciding factor.

Obviously most of the respondents to the OP have been around and most likely have the experience to understand what i'm saying, though it does seem that, in general, there has been an attitude shift since beacons became commonplace. It is this attitude (the assumption that PLB'S make solo walking any less 'weighty' a choice) that I struggle with. I guess even if i'm preaching for posterity, I feel better sticking my 2 cents in....

BTW this ^ isnt even really in relation to Daz (evidence from his first line), good to see your home safe and gave an honest account

[johnw]

Daz I'm glad your story had a safe ending (get well soon). For me this is one of the most compelling arguments I've heard for carrying a PLB. I occasionaly walk solo, though only on day trips so far. I don't usually venture too far from formed tracks on these occasions, but even so I sometimes get to places that are relatively remote and less frequented. If anything went wrong I could easily find myself in similar circumstances. The reason I walk alone is usually a case of no companion available. So it's either go alone or not at all. The latter is unacceptable to me and I acknowledge the greater risk involved of choosing to go by myself. By nature I'm a very solitary person anyway so I do enjoy these walks. I'm very careful and as well-prepared as I can be, but I know I'm not infallible. Regardless of personal ethics as to whether one should carry a PLB, there seems to be growing public opinion (demand?) that all bushwalkers should do so. In NSW, Police have fairly recently started to suggest that it is a good idea to carry one and are involved in loaning them free in the Blue Mountains area. So is it unreasonable to seek assistance (via PLB or other means) if you are well prepared, responsible, and have some sort of mishap despite that? Personally I don't believe so, and I accept that help may not arrive anyway. After all there is never any public outcry whenever some idiot needs assistance because they injured themselves as a result of falling down stone drunk in the street. Or a myriad other daily examples of urban stupidity I could give that don't raise an eyebrow, yet put exponentially greater pressure on public funds, and put more emergency service workers at risk, than comparatively rare (yet sensationalised) incidents of injured or missing bushwalkers. Anyway Daz your experience adds weight to my own personal evaluation of whether I should invest in a PLB. Thanks for sharing it and giving such a frank account of what happened, this is something that could happen to any of us who walk alone.

[Nuts]

I hope you didnt take any cues from my post john? I dont think needing to activate a PLB is at all 'unreasonable', quite the opposite in fact. Its not my opinion that anyone should think (more than) once when deciding to activate them. My main point was that I don't consider that carrying one should play any role in planning a walk.

Your probably right that there is a growing public opinion that bushwalkers 'should' carry a beacon. Perhaps they should...

(The term 'demand' doesn't sit right with me though. (also, it implies enforcement, something that would likely, hopefully prove impossible))

[bluewombat]

Nuts, I can certainly see where you are coming from, I suspect that like me you grew up with the assumption that if you got yourself into trouble doing this stuff, you should get yourself out of trouble. However even if Daz doesnt have an plb, if he doesnt turn up the rescue services are still going to be activated, just a little later......possibly with worse outcomes. There are a lot of things in this story to ponder.

I think every walker should accept the responsibility for his/her decisions and make judgements on the basis of the conditions and their skill level rather than their ego, but unfortunately that doesnt always work out. A busted ankle or worse can happen anywhere, anytime; its just that it usually doesnt. Most people who bushwalk have not gotten into trouble more on the basis of good luck than good management. I can certainly remember being in a few situations that had gone semi-pear shaped, one more issue and it would have been really desperate.

We can plan for what we would do, and even if he was a couple of days out it sounds like Daz would have been fine as he could have pitched his tent and waited, unless he was so cold and wet that hypothermia got him while he was trying to get organised. A plb would not have helped him in that circumstance but a walking buddy would have.

So for me its have the technology and hope you dont have to use it.
bw

PS for those who are interested in how things can go pearshaped with sea kayaking I would recommend a book called Deep Trouble, a compilation by Sea Kayaker magazine. Fascinating selection of how even well prepared folk can come unstuck

[Nuts]

Yes, I did bw. Still believe that (for the purposes of planning) this is still the best approach regardless of whether you have a PLB or not (expect to need to get yourself out of trouble).

Besides the problems that can occur with having the beacon on hand at the right time and activated I also wonder whether all the stories that could be quoted of their use could be offset by the number of people ready to rely on there use (either as a reason to choose a particular route that they otherwise wouldn't or in a general sense to take extra risks? (with carrying a beacon as just one factor in the back of their mind)

Hey, I bought that book back in my sea kayak days, was an interesting read. I imagine that there have been many more incidents since it was first published.

[stepbystep]

As a realtiveley young walker(35) and male, I have discovered walking with buddies of a similar age brings out an ugly sort of machismo, where guys skip and jump over rocks and other obstacles at a speed I would never attempt on my own. I feel safer when travelling at my own speed and within my own abilities. It is because of the isolation and the inherant dangers attached to this that I am accutely aware of what the consequences involved on being on my own are.
It is for this reason if I walk with anyone I much prefer a more mature buddy or a woman, young men do stupid things in the bush as well as on the roads, and this would be one of the reasons 95% of my walks are on my own.
Daz's story hits home as it is 'just' a day walk that nearly turned so pear shaped and I have never considered a PLB for a day walk, but you can certainly get isolated easily. I will definately hire one for walks like the SCT or WA or any multi-day in winter, when there is unlikely to be someone by within a few hours.
I stay on or close to well formed tracks, but you never know.....

Daz, glad you had the guts to post the story, keep your foot up

[daznkez]

Hey All,
Receiving royal treatment for the leg, should be walking in 4-5 weeks.
Following on from the other posts, I'm seeing the rescue thing as a wheel with spokes, the more spokes the better the wheel.
Each option has a limitation, but having two or more options helps cover that. No option for rescue seems to be as valuable as having someone that cares about you knowing where you are. A previous thread on here about an online walk registration still has merit. The Epirb has disadvantages on it's own, one spoke on the wheel, with walkers often forgetting all else. Mentally and practically preparing for self rescue could be a spoke if you do it right. On this solo trip I took my bendy- splint out of my pack and took bourbon instead !, a painful truth to bear.

[tasadam]

Daz, just wondering, had you had a PLB, would you have self-rescued as you did, or would you have activated it?
I'm also curious why come out rather than stay in the tent assuming a rescue would be there in a couple of days?

I am not questioning your decisions, far from it. Just curious as to what was going through your mind at the time.
What did you do to brace your leg before dragging yourself down to the car?

Glad to hear things are on the mend.

[johnw]

I hope you didnt take any cues from my post john? I dont think needing to activate a PLB is at all 'unreasonable', quite the opposite in fact. Its not my opinion that anyone should think (more than) once when deciding to activate them. My main point was that I don't consider that carrying one should play any role in planning a walk.

Your probably right that there is a growing public opinion that bushwalkers 'should' carry a beacon. Perhaps they should...

(The term 'demand' doesn't sit right with me though. (also, it implies enforcement, something that would likely, hopefully prove impossible))

Hi Nuts,
Of course I did . I don't really think our viewpoints are too different though. I definitely agree that we should expect to get ourselves out of trouble and not simply rely on others. And I always approach any walk with that expectation. Fortunately I've managed to do that so far, whether by good luck or good management; probably a bit of both. Not that I've had too many problems (touch wood). I just don't see anything wrong with the concept of carrying a PLB as a last resort. And I really mean last resort. In reality I think I would be very reluctant to activate it anyway. Apart from anything else, for me, it would feel like an admission of failure and very embarrassing I think. There would need to be absolutely no alternative without putting myself or companion/s at very great risk than by not doing so. So the issue of judgement about whether/when to activate needs consideration (probably echoing other comments).

I don't agree with enforcement either. I think we are already too much of a nanny state (in Oz). It's just that when I hear/read those sorts of comments when an incident occurs, they appear to come across as demands rather than recommendatons. Noting that the person/s making such comments often seem to do so from a position of total ignorance . I often wonder if any of them have ever actually set foot in the bush?

[Steve73]

I notice in today's paper a Victorian Govt. Minister is missing in the snowies. It says he was walking solo, is experienced but wasn't carrying a PLB. I'm sorry but I find walking solo at this time of the year in those conditions and not carrying a PLB as stupid.

[photohiker]

I'm going to swim against the tide here a little bit...

If I had a PLB and was faced with a life threatening situation, I would not hesitate to use it.

I'm not talking about blisters.

I'm talking about medical emergency: debilitating injury, heart attack, stroke, severe shock etc. of myself or another hiker.

These systems and response networks are put in place for exactly that purpose. I share the view that I should have survival skills, but also accept that situations can occur that are beyond the scope of self-help. Whilst not pressing the button because I may involve the rescue team in life threatening rescues or prevent them from rescuing other people in distress is noble, I'd rather leave those kinds of decisions to the people trained and experienced to make those judgements.

[Fizzygood]

Some stats on why/how people find themselves in a life-threatening situation would make for an illuminating read I should imagine... my guess is that the vast majority of serious situations occur in the bush due more to human error than an event that is uncontrollable or unavoidable...

Obviously falling and injuring yourself is not human error, unless of course the decisions that led you to the place of injury were not the right ones...

For me, activating my epirb would be a simple decision to make. Not because I am casual or flippant about it, but because I have imagined countless dreadful situations (and been in one or two) that could arise on my own and what my response would be. This forward thinking enables me to prepare for a multitude of eventualities with there being a number of options available to me before the last resort of hitting the red button.... I know what all my survival options are because I know myself, my gear, and the environment that I'm entering...

Cheery thread before I head into the highlands for a week solo too guys

Erin

[Nuts]

hmmm, i might have sparked the various opinions, as I said, more for posterity than anything. Interesting response though...
About the only thing i would question is to say an experienced walker is stupid at this time of year for going solo and not carrying a plb... Perhaps in this age he was, others feeling compelled to go looking for him and all...? I'm sure until he (perhaps) has a chance to explain what happened its only going to be the usual tut tutting and speculation. Could it be stupid to go solo, stupid to go solo this time of the year, stupid to go solo at this time of the year without a plb?

Erin, dont hestitate to use it... After all, with your experience, the decision to use it (without hesitation) would have been made before leaving home...

[north-north-west]

Could it be stupid to go solo, stupid to go solo this time of the year, stupid to go solo at this time of the year without a plb?

It's not stupid until something goes wrong.

And, if you give it enough opportunities, eventually something will.

[Taurë-rana]

For me, activating my epirb would be a simple decision to make. Not because I am casual or flippant about it, but because I have imagined countless dreadful situations (and been in one or two) that could arise on my own and what my response would be. This forward thinking enables me to prepare for a multitude of eventualities with there being a number of options available to me before the last resort of hitting the red button.... I know what all my survival options are because I know myself, my gear, and the environment that I'm entering...
Erin

I think imagining as many scenarios as we can and knowing what we would do makes a big difference - apparently people who survive disasters such as plane crashes are the ones who have imagined exactly what they would do in the situation so have no problem doing it when it happens. I must admit that although I try to go walking as prepared as possible, I haven't actually thought about different scenarios and exactly what I would do. I do try to stick to the track if I walk by myself, to make it easier for potential searchers to find me so I think if I had a PLB it would actually give me more freedom to explore than I feel at the moment. I like to think that I would be able to rescue myself like Daz did, or at least make myself comfortable enough to survive until I was found but there are some injuries that could make that very hard. I think one big advantage of a PLB is that if you do get hurt and stuck in the bush and you activate it, your poor backup person isn't wondering if you are just late or whether they should go into panic mode.

[johnw]

I notice in today's paper a Victorian Govt. Minister is missing in the snowies. It says he was walking solo, is experienced but wasn't carrying a PLB.

Was just on the radio that they've found him. Seems OK apparently, being choppered to hospital for assessment.

[tasadam]

I notice in today's paper a Victorian Govt. Minister is missing in the snowies. It says he was walking solo, is experienced but wasn't carrying a PLB.

Was just on the radio that they've found him. Seems OK apparently, being choppered to hospital for assessment.

There's a topic discussing that, HERE.

[Ent]

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[north-north-west]

Solo walking is good for the soul at times but seriously doing it in winter in remotes areas is not good for others' souls that care about you.

Ahh well, it's a good thing no-one cares about me, then.

[turtle]

I wonder how many hundreds of false or trivial alarms there would be each year if they were compulsory? Would more time be taken up with these alarms then the occassional lost walker we have now? And yes I have a week off sometime in Sept to do some walking in Tassie for those that read my first posts - has become habit to drop in on your forum.So is it fine yet? Or should I say less rainy?
Turtle