10-miles, not hardly, don’t believe what’s printed on the package. A ham radio handheld has more power then either FRS or GMRS and it’s only good for a few miles (simplex, no repeater.) If you can reliably get 1-mile out of a GMRS I would be very surprised.

The fact of the matter is that describing FRS or GMRS by their “mile range” is completely useless. The radio’s range will depend on the specific terrain and circumstances of that particular radio’s usage. A better description would simply be the transmit power in wattage. Your better FRS and GMRS radios will have ½-watt power on an FRS channel and 5-watt power on a GMRS channel. These are the upper limits set by the U.S. FCC for these types of radios. (Other countries, e.g. Canada, may have different maximums.)

Generally, 5 watts of transmit power from one radio will have about an equal range of 5 watts from another radio for any given terrain.

Actually, a better comparison would be ERP, or effective radiated power.

There are other factors that can dramatically effect range in addition to terrain and circumstance, those being frequency, height above ground, intermod, multipath, proximal channel ops, solar activity, antenna type/configuration, azimuth, and orientation.

For example, running a 5 watt portable at UHF business band into a magnetic mount 5/8-5/8 loaded coil antenna will give me about the same effective range as a 35 watt dash mounted mobile radio in the same band using a 1/4 wave antenna, given nominal variation in elevation within that range.

I don’t think GMRS hand held radios are 5-watts when running on internal batteries. I would make a guess they are no more then 1.5 watts when battery powered. GMRS radios may be licensed to operate up to 5-watts by the FCC, but the power the radio would consume at 5-watts would kill a battery very quickly making them much less useful. So they balance the power output with battery life and you end up with a 1-mile radio on simplex.

I don’t think you can expect much more then 1-mile out of a pack radio, and the idea that anyone has their radio on within that range is unrealistic.

If there is a repeater within a few miles, (I don’t know if GMRS frequencies are covered by repeaters) I would think (assuming the repeater antenna is high in the air and in a good location) you could expect to get into a repeater from 5-miles. Hand held to hand held no more then 1-mile.


A ham radio hand held with a repeater guide would probably be a better choice. A 2-meter, radio would be the best choice as it’s the most popular and monitored more then other bands, and has more range then UHF radios.

My advice? Don't get lost, stay found. How many survival situations have we seen that started out fine and went south fast after the subject got lost. The government has spent $billion$ putting the GPS system into orbit; get an inexpensive GPS and learn how to use that system to find yourself on a real map. Navigate with map and compass.

Non-mapping GPS units work well to determine exactly where you are relative to waypoints or landmarks you program in before you start hiking and during the hike. Otherwise all it gives you is a geo reference (lat-long or UTM) that you need to take to a real map.

Mapping GPS units have the advantage of the map included with the precise position. But you are limited to the info which is in the database. Newer units with memory cards can contain a lot of data but you still need to get in there before you start walking so you aren't surprised to find it lacking when crunch time comes.

The GPS units with electronic compass I've used did a good job at finding true north and were self calibrating. It might be a good idea to have a real compass to compare it to so that if it does screw up you'll know. Otherwise bring lots of extra batteries because the GPS compass works on battery power and it uses as much or more than the GPS receiver. I never use the electronic compass in my GPS, too much battery drain.

I prefer non-mapping GPS units because they're cheaper and universal in that I don't need to worry about which database/memory card is in the unit. A real map and mag compass are the primary nav tools with a small & lightweight GPS (Garmin Geko 301). It's a nice unit in that it's small enough that you can throw it in your pocket and forget about it. If you want, preload visual reference points (mountain peaks and points you expect to pass by) as waypoints so it puts a cheap map on the display.

Get a good fix at your trail-head (& wherever you park your car) and add those as waypoints, waypoints are free. Then turn it off until you need to check/verify your position. Turn it on, check its position against your map's UTM grid and then turn it off. Batteries last a long time in this mode. Some folks like to run their GPS continually so they can see the little bread crumb trail on the display; IMO that's what the map is for. Maps and mag compass don't use batteries.

+1 on staying found. Don't wait until it's too late to stay on top of knowing where you are at all times. A GPS is great for that but a map, compass, and the knowledge to use them is a must have IMO.

I use a GMRS radio to keep in touch with my wife while camping and I've never (despite lots of monitoring and scanning) picked up anybody using within range but us. I keep one handy for SAR work too to monitor the air waves...it's light weight and you can never be sure who might be listening. In reality though you're better off with a good whistle.

Blast had some good ones. I'm a SAR volunteer and I've NEVER considered leaving pictures of my gear and a boot print. Mantracking would be SOOO much easier if we went out knowing what their boot treads looked like!

You're going to find different lists of the 'top essential' items. I feel it's best to be familiar with several as they're all very similar. Many of the items are tiny and easy to carry (like a firesteel or a signal mirror) so there's no excuse for not having them handy. The Boreal Instutute has some good lists I keep around for when I'm trying to lighten my load to remind me which items are worth the weight.

http://www.boreal.net

My personal must have is a gear repair kit. There is nothing worse than being days into the hinterlands and having a pack strap break or the bottom tear out of your pack or a shoe blow out or you get a hole in your tent (the list goes on). We don't all hike with brand new shiny gear and as it wears this becomes even more important...though accidents happen an no gear is impervious to damage. My kit is fairly beefy but that's only because I like to be the boy scout always prepared hero type when I'm out with friends. I can't tell you how many sleeping pads I've patched with nothing more than a mini glue stick and a mini bic. Even if gear repair is nothing more than duct tape and some needles and thread it's better than nothing.

So is ChrisinAz ever going to come back and take responsibility for triggering this avalanche?

Leaving a boot print with someone is a great idea, such a simple thing to do.

Reading my own post I can't help but relay a story from my youth about gear repair...it's a bit off topic so sorry in advance.

My brother went on a hiking trip with a very expensive external frame pack (which was the slickest thing going at the time...about 20-25 years ago). He had his food in the bottom of his pack and to keep the bears away from the tent he just wedged the pack on a high branch of a tree. It was off the ground and the boughs protected it from rain...he thought he was so smart.

In the morning there was a gaping 8" hole in the bottom of his pack and the food was gone...the squirrels had all night to go to town on his pack and hide or eat just about everything he had. He had to hike out a day early carrying half of his gear because it wouldn't stay in his pack. He even ended up with a hole in his sleeping bag...some lucky squirrel got to spend the winter in a house lined with down feathers LOL.

(Continuing with the off-topic ...)

Believe it or not, I had a backpack nearly destroyed by porcupines. It seems they are insanely ravenous for salt, so an empty backpack against a tree, with nice sweaty shoulder straps, is a primo snack. I was able to sew/tape things together and finish the trip. But it was an unexpected hazard, to say the least. (Porkys also chew wooden canoes; and munch the edges off plywood trail signs, since the glue contains traces of salt, or so I'm told. I've seen signs with two-thirds of the edges nibbled away ... "DANGER! DO NOT ...." ?????? feed the porcupines, I guess.)

As for squirrels -- they've chewed through multiple layers of nylon and plastic to get at my GORP (good old raisins & peanuts) ... at the TOP of an officially-sanctioned bear pole clad in slippery aluminum. My conclusion: if squirrels ever make an evolutionary leap and start working together, we humans are in serious trouble.