Pack check Wednesday - on Friday we were setting out with 7 scouts for an Olympics traverse from Quinault to Dosewallips, hard hiking and lots of elevation gain, and eventually elevation loss. After triaging the scout's packs, the Scoutmaster and I turned to mine, and showed all Scouts where my PLB would be kept. We talked about being on the trail, always at least one day and often 2-3 days hikes from any assistance (or restaurants, convenience stores, bathrooms etc). We would be on our own, and unless we encountered someone else, we would have to rely on each other. If one of us got hurt, we'd treat the person and make an evacuation decision: could we self-evacuate, or would we activate the PLB for help? We set the rules: adults in the party could activate the PLB, or if all adults were incapacitated, any scout would activate the PLB immediately. We talked about how to choose a location and demonstrated how to actually activate the PLB for every Scout. We passed it around. We made clear, we don't activate for blisters, the trots, twists and sprains, cuts, gashes, or other trail ailments. We carry with us what's necessary to cover that ground. Most emergencies, even medical issues, you plan to treat and self-evacuate: if life is threatened, we will activate the PLB.

Like most back country trips we all had a great time, suffered some blisters and one sprain, but emerged from the trail hungry but just fine. We saw plenty of the less scary black bears, and we hung our food at night and carried bulky food canisters. The scouts all got a primer on the role of the PLB in the outdoors, just like everything else we took with us. We didn't need the PLB, but that's the point. We had entered into a pact of sorts, that we were leaving civilization, to the point of taking 2-3 days to actually return to the world of cell phones, iPods, computers and TVs from the midpoint of our hike. We would be on our own, at least 24 hours from the most immediate assistance, for which the wheels could start moving only by the PLB. I think the boys moved more cautiously when they were out of reach of immediate assistance (there are some steep traverses across the middle of this Olympic route), but they also enjoyed the feeling of being out there, really on their own for the first or second times in their lives.

Hopefully they all realize a PLB is a lifeline, not a ticket home to avoid adversity. Any Scout that's been on a 50 miler I'll trust to use a PLB the right way going forward. Its getting them out on those 50 milers that is a challenge these days.

NOLS gets kids out there, beyond the reach of immediate assistance, where the kids can have that transformative experience in the outdoors. They do an excellent job of it. I think they're doing the correct risks assessments, even for Alaskan back country trips, where the analysis is a little trickier, and I have no experience.