Lost in OR desert, lucky to be alive

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/mi...in-remote-oregon-desert/ar-AAETR2g?li=BBnb7Kz

 

Crazy stuff. Guy is lucky to be alive. Doesn't sound like he was well prepared at all for how far out into the backcountry he was traveling. That hiker that found him is a hero.

 

Yeah, need better planning than that. Buddy system.

 

Yep. Good reminder to always hope for the best but plan for the worst.

 

Seems odd the second dog would go back to the jeep.

 

He was a bikepacker! So much cooler than a hiker. Below was prob the route the guy who found him was taking. Lot of pretty but remote country out that way.

https://bikepacking.com/routes/oregon-outback/

 

Or at the very least when going solo, tell someone! Route, timeline, Expected return. I normally give them a "drop dead" time that if you don't hear from me by X, start looking.

 

The superstitious part of me thinks you should rename that to something other than 'drop dead time' haha

 

Very lucky to be alive under those circumstances. His vehicle needs to be recovered.

 

Poor guy. If he had a Yota he would never have gotten stuck.

 

So what are the money damages to one's pocketbook when you set off a PLB and the assembled multitude comes to your rescue? I know when it is on the water and you call a marine salvage company they get half of your boat.

 

Want to talk about unprepared.....
https://www.insideedition.com/media...shes-without-supplies-california-desert-54542

 

Reminds me I need to resume my Garmin inreach service again post injury hiatus and upcoming trips

 

There’s pretty cheap SAR insurance out there for about $20/yr.

I use this one when traveling:
https://www.geostravelsafety.com/sar-memberships.html

It’s also the recovery of the vehicle that will be the big ticket if friends don’t do it for beers.

 

I am asking about the cost of the response team to come, not the cost of the personal equipment. It can be very expensive to recover a lost or stranded hiker(s), depending on the circumstances. I am inquiring as to the charge back to the recovered person. Is this a reality, and if so what can one expect to have their ass pulled out of deep shit? Fire departments are charging response fees now. Some municipalities are including officer and vehicle charges in addition to citations that the officer writes. This practice is being widely hailed as predatory. ANyone taken an ambulance ride lately? It costs a lung. But I'm not talking about the ambulance ride, I'm talking about the entities with the specific skill sets to get to you and get you out. Surely the emergency response to a hiker request for assistance includes charges for providing that service. What are they? I am pretty sure that you'd pay anything at the time you press that button. In this day and time of inadequate funding and revenues to civil entities, I am also pretty sure that they are going to take every opportunity to get into your pocketbook and reimburse themselves for having to come get you. Knowing you would pay anything at that moment, are they taking advantage of your predicament and being predatory in their charges?

 

Depends on the jurisdiction. Some are volunteer SAR and won't charge for anything. Some will only charge for sheer utter negligent situations. Some will charge for anything.
Here in the Phoenix metro area there's a lot of hiking trails and climbing in city limits. All the major municipalities don't charge for the rescue itself. The standard practice is they will come get you and bring you down to the trailhead if from that point you need an ambulance or injury is so severe a helicopter ride to the hospital then you get billed.

We've also got organizations like CAMRA Central AZ Mountain Rescue that are volunteer and have helicopter time donated by state highway patrol.

With that said I still paid the $20yr for the 50k insurance coverage for rescue charges via Garmin

 

My ex had a seizure in a grocery store that was literally across the street from the local hospital. Someone called 911 and they sent an ambulance over and picked her up, drove her across the street to the hospital and hit her with a $900 ambulance ride charge lol. Crazy.

 

Boy, he is sure lucky to be alive! That’s the most remote part of Oregon you can find!

 

I started to carry one of these. That and helicopter insurance

(PLB, FastFind 220, GPS, 24hr, floats, 6 year battery life)