There's a good AP
article that's being widely published today about a growing problem wilderness rescuers are finding with regards to the increased prevalence of backcountry technologies.
Personal locator beacons and cell phones have made calling for help instantaneous - even in the most remote places. Because would-be adventurers can send GPS coordinates to rescuers with the touch of a button, some are exploring terrain they don't have the experience, knowledge or endurance to tackle.
“Now you can go into the back country and take a risk you might not normally have taken,” says Matt Scharper, the head of California’s Search and Rescue operations. “With the Yuppie 911, you send a message to a satellite and the government pulls your butt out of something you shouldn’t have been in in the first place.”
Beyond the growing number of questionable incidences, the article was prompted by the story of a group of hikers in the Grand Canyon that activated their emergency beacon three times over the course of three days! Each time a helicopter was mobilized for a potential rescue.
On the third mobilization, rescuers finally took the four hikers off the trail and cited the leader for “creating a hazardous condition” for the rescue teams.
I can totally understand the psychological feeling of security that some hikers would have with an emergency beacon in their backpack. Knowing that rescue is just a push of a button away, I can imagine that many hikers now have the motivation or the excuse to push themselves further into the wilderness.
Yes, the technology is great; it has and will save many lives. But clearly it's being abused and will probably get even worse as more people acquire this kind of equipment. Perhaps the only way search and rescue officials can put an end to this is to begin charging adventurers and hikers fees and fines for questionable rescues and negligent behavior. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people with legitimate emergencies should be charged fees. I'm saying there needs to be a moral hazard involved for people who use emergency beacons as a crutch.
What do you guys think?
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