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MAP READING and SPOT

By dlbaral,
in CRF450X

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dlbaral

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I thought you guys might like to hear my little riding adventure story. I'll try and be short. Last month we decided to do a day ride from Dove Springs to Lake Isabella. Beautiful day and nice fun trails. We lost the trail about 1:00pm. Mudslides, snow and just being impatient and idiots we decided to bushwack it down the mountain thinking we would pickup a trail. One buddy said we should stick to the map and try and find the trail or backtrack and pickup another trail. We called him a moron and girl and said we should just ride down the mountain. Well when we realized we could not make it back up the mountain(steepness,sand, rocks) we decided to abandon the bikes and walk out. We were in a ravine the size of the Grand Canyon. Ok I exagerated a little. Anyway, it was dark, we had no energy and it was getting cold. So, at about 5500 feet, we started our trek down the mountain, leaving $20K in bikes. No way someone was gong to steal them because no idiot would do what we did. As soon as we started walking I turned on my SPOT which if none of you have I highly recommend. For the next 3+ hours we walked down the mountain until we came to a house around 11:00pm. Great people and they gave us a ride to Dove Springs to our trucks. We were spent. Luckily my son got the SPOT signal and was tracking us on Google. When one friend didn't show up his wife called mine and she knew we were ok. The other buddies wife didn't know where he was. All she knew was that he went riding with an old high school buddy. His wife freaked and called the Sheriff's dept. The sheriff said maybe his buddy brought him up to the desert to kill him. I am not joking. The guys wife freaked even more. She wanted them to send a heli but the Sheriff said no because by this time they had found the wife of his high school friend who told the Sheriffs my son was getting GPS signal we were ok and moving. So around 11:15 he called his wife and she was happy. Next day I called helicopter service to see what it would cost to get bikes out. $3,000. Not a bad price but one buddy wanted to try and get them out. So the next Sunday, 12 guys set out for the adventure of a lifetime. Seriously. It took us almost three hours to get to the bikes. With ropes, good tall riders and muscle, we got the bikes out. It took all day. People I didn't really know came out to help. What great guys. I'll never forget what they did. Bikes were fine after a week at 5,500 feet. My two buddies thought we were going to be killed by some desert rat or raped. Funny what we talked and thought about walking down the mountain that evening. We saw bear tracks and joked about being bear food. I carry a small 357 lightweight S & W so I told my buddies to stick close. We had hit a wall and were exhausted walking in our gear. It was an amazing adventure and I will never forget the people who helped us. So stick to your map and get a SPOT or GPS phone. Don't be an idiot like me. At 49 you would think I would be smarter. Ride safe.

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Nayther

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Good thing you came across some friendly folks at that house. I know of a similar story in the same area and the bikers came down into Liebel canyon and Mr. Liebel is not friendly to motorcyclists, damn near shot them. Liebel creek/canyon leads down into Bodfish.

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dlbaral

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You guys can read about the SPOT on-line but I'll let you know what I know. There are basically three buttons. Each one contacts the satellite. One button sends an "I am ok" message and GPS location to an e-mail of your choice. The other button sends an "I am ok, but send help" message and GPS location to an e-mail of your choice. The third is a "911" button and someone at the SPOT call center contacts authorities in your location to come help you. It may send a text also, not sure. The good thing is that it keeps sending a signal. For $150 purchase price and about $100 per year subscription fee it is worth it. I hope soon they come up with a unit that can send and receive text. The only bad thing about the unit is you don't really know if someone got the signal. In my case the unit worked well and did the job. I had piece of mind my family knew I was ok and if I needed to call immediate help I could. We all know that this device could be the difference between life and death. It is cheap insurance. I am sure the kid who cut his own arm off because he got stuck rock climbing would have loved to have one!!! I love adventure but I also love the fact I can get a fun heli ride if needed. Ride safe boys.

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JohnnyAirtime

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Actually... Spot is/was $150 for the device and one year of service (free SPOT) with purchase. Using the http://findmespot.com/robby/ link.

Great to hear you made it out. And that all turned out okay.

... did you save the coordinates of that exact location?

It's not an "out of the ordinary" for any dirt-biker... Friends of mine;

http://www.dirtfocus.com/photos2003/09-28_MacCain/mccain_index.htm

Reams%20Bike%20_%20Air-sml_small1.JPG

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JohnnyAirtime

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Geez, I'm real glad you are all ok. Spot has been somthing that has been on my mind for a while. It would be great if they could add the text feature to it. I'll be looking into this myself. D

... I think for the cost and yearly price, it's a GREAT tool. And if you all aren't aware, there is a "one way" text you can send from the unit. In fact, you can type in (before you leave on the trip) what it'll say to your recipients. And that text message, will go out in email and/or phone text (it can do both, to many recipients). I use two of the features of that outgoing messaging. For example one is "okay - ... just checking in, and we are doing fine..." and the other of "help - ... we need help, not an emergency, but contact the chase truck and/or someone on the ride if possible..." with the last resort being the "911" feature. Which sends out a message to GEOS Alliance and they'll in turn contact everyone on your 911 list. Getting the scoop of your trip, nature of it, and what to expect from your emergency contacts (again, shows how important it is they know where you are, and what your up to). GEOS will also get a description of you, what to look out for (bikes, quads... amount of riders...etc) all because you typed this in before your ride.

If you don't know it's capability, I think you'd be very surprised to know what it can do for you and your friends. Since texting/emailing isn't two way... you don't know if there's "confirmation" or not, but... it's more than expected for such a cheap insurance/safety device.

As well, the tracking feature is a huge plus for anyone 'wondering' where you are or that your still "on the move". Obviously, those people watching your track history know your plan, and where you'll take breaks... so to not worry if you stop in one spot for an hour ...etc.

If you search TT on "SPOT" and me as the 'poster' of the thread, you'll see I've researched this pretty heavily. I won't ride without one.

?

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CS105

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I thought you guys might like to hear my little riding adventure story. I'll try and be short. Last month we decided to do a day ride from Dove Springs to Lake Isabella. Beautiful day and nice fun trails. We lost the trail about 1:00pm. Mudslides, snow and just being impatient and idiots we decided to bushwack it down the mountain thinking we would pickup a trail. One buddy said we should stick to the map and try and find the trail or backtrack and pickup another trail. We called him a moron and girl and said we should just ride down the mountain. Well when we realized we could not make it back up the mountain(steepness,sand, rocks) we decided to abandon the bikes and walk out. We were in a ravine the size of the Grand Canyon. Ok I exagerated a little. Anyway, it was dark, we had no energy and it was getting cold. So, at about 5500 feet, we started our trek down the mountain, leaving $20K in bikes. No way someone was gong to steal them because no idiot would do what we did. As soon as we started walking I turned on my SPOT which if none of you have I highly recommend. For the next 3+ hours we walked down the mountain until we came to a house around 11:00pm. Great people and they gave us a ride to Dove Springs to our trucks. We were spent. Luckily my son got the SPOT signal and was tracking us on Google. When one friend didn't show up his wife called mine and she knew we were ok. The other buddies wife didn't know where he was. All she knew was that he went riding with an old high school buddy. His wife freaked and called the Sheriff's dept. The sheriff said maybe his buddy brought him up to the desert to kill him. I am not joking. The guys wife freaked even more. She wanted them to send a heli but the Sheriff said no because by this time they had found the wife of his high school friend who told the Sheriffs my son was getting GPS signal we were ok and moving. So around 11:15 he called his wife and she was happy. Next day I called helicopter service to see what it would cost to get bikes out. $3,000. Not a bad price but one buddy wanted to try and get them out. So the next Sunday, 12 guys set out for the adventure of a lifetime. Seriously. It took us almost three hours to get to the bikes. With ropes, good tall riders and muscle, we got the bikes out. It took all day. People I didn't really know came out to help. What great guys. I'll never forget what they did. Bikes were fine after a week at 5,500 feet. My two buddies thought we were going to be killed by some desert rat or raped. Funny what we talked and thought about walking down the mountain that evening. We saw bear tracks and joked about being bear food. I carry a small 357 lightweight S & W so I told my buddies to stick close. We had hit a wall and were exhausted walking in our gear. It was an amazing adventure and I will never forget the people who helped us. So stick to your map and get a SPOT or GPS phone. Don't be an idiot like me. At 49 you would think I would be smarter. Ride safe.

Wow! What a story!! Thanks for sharing!!!

... I think for the cost and yearly price, it's a GREAT tool. And if you all aren't aware, there is a "one way" text you can send from the unit. In fact, you can type in (before you leave on the trip) what it'll say to your recipients. And that text message, will go out in email and/or phone text (it can do both, to many recipients). I use two of the features of that outgoing messaging. For example one is "okay - ... just checking in, and we are doing fine..." and the other of "help - ... we need help, not an emergency, but contact the chase truck and/or someone on the ride if possible..." with the last resort being the "911" feature. Which sends out a message to GEOS Alliance and they'll in turn contact everyone on your 911 list. Getting the scoop of your trip, nature of it, and what to expect from your emergency contacts (again, shows how important it is they know where you are, and what your up to). GEOS will also get a description of you, what to look out for (bikes, quads... amount of riders...etc) all because you typed this in before your ride.

If you don't know it's capability, I think you'd be very surprised to know what it can do for you and your friends. Since texting/emailing isn't two way... you don't know if there's "confirmation" or not, but... it's more than expected for such a cheap insurance/safety device.

As well, the tracking feature is a huge plus for anyone 'wondering' where you are or that your still "on the move". Obviously, those people watching your track history know your plan, and where you'll take breaks... so to not worry if you stop in one spot for an hour ...etc.

If you search TT on "SPOT" and me as the 'poster' of the thread, you'll see I've researched this pretty heavily. I won't ride without one.

?

You got my attention. I've been ridding by myself and want a SPOT. I didn't know you could put your own text messages on it. Is there a limit to how many words ???

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