Nor was he the first, and probably not the last. It was several years before a back country ranger's remains were found at Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. He had evidently drowned in rapidly flowing melt water in a snowfield.

Still unclosed is the case of Paul Fugate, a ranger at Chiricahua National Monument, who left the visitor center on a slow Sunday afternoon in January, 1980, and who has not been seen since. I was heavily involved in that operation for sometime.

GPS technology et al. does increase the odds in the back country, and advising others of your plans and itinerary has been practiced in sensible, safety conscious operations for many years - often to good effect.

If you suffer a fatal fall, none of this gee whiz, high tech gadgetry offers you any significant benefit, although it does help the park in keeping the park clear of debris