Still, I wonder why you wouldn't carry something like a PLB. Other than perhaps the weight, it doesn't impair your freedom, but could bail you out if need be. I've hiked with the best; I mean moutaineers that have done 20K+ peaks; and everyone has an accident sooner or later.
A good, fair question. I suspect my reasons are counter-logical. It's sort of an aesthetic, psychological thing. I like being alone, and free. A PLB or a GPS just feels like a tether to civilization or a sort of crutch in my mind, I guess. I actually own a few GPSs, but I've yet to carry one on a long trip.
I'm not foolish enough to believe that I am immune from the hazards, or that any amount of experience or skill can keep anyone safe from an accident. I've actually had some VERY close calls, including one memorable fall and slide on a steeply sloped granite slab where I was saved from a drop into oblivion by fortuitous and quite painful jam into a little surface crack. I had to sit and wait about a half hour to quit shaking after that.
Maybe that's part of the appeal, though. Total self reliance, with a certain occasional frisson of mortal danger. I know it doesn't make sense, but there it is.
Jeff
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