I’m glad she’s safe. While I’m sure there are lessons learned it sounds like a lot of things went right.

The story brought up a question in my mind — she reported having been aware of the search helicopters but that they couldn’t see her. If she had had a signal mirror (in the daytime) or a powerful flashlight (at night) that could have made a difference, but that isn’t my question.

I carry a handheld VHF/UHF amateur radio transceiver when I’m almost anywhere out of my house. Would SAR aircraft be listening on ham radio calling frequencies? Or the Marine VHF calling frequency * ?


* - It is illegal to use a ham radio to transmit on Marine VHF frequencies, except in a bona fide emergency. This situation would certainly count.

A related dad question:

My mid-20 age daughter will be graduating and taking a job in Arizona next year. I know she'll enjoy hiking the area. In addition to her carrying water and survival gear, if I were to give her a graduation gift, would you recommend a mapping GPS w/ electronic compass to help her get unlost, OR a personal locator beacon to help her get found for whatever life threatening situation??

As much as I'm a fan of PLB's, I lean toward the GPS for its flexible utility, but I fear that she'll leave the GPS behind while instead relying on a smartphone app (with local map saved). So maybe a PLB is more likely to end up in the backpack.

I'd get her both, but this in addition to gifting her a much wanted rifle ... while I can buy the particular style she wants.

I lived, worked, and rescued in Arizona for about three decades. Where in Arizona will she be located? Flagstaff, elev. 7000 feet, and Phoenix, elev. 2000 feet, are essentially on different planets with respect to climate.

The great thing about AZ outdoors is the great variability in climate, corresponding with elevation changes. You can go from desert to snowshoe country in less than one hour.

I am a definite fan of paper maps, much more versatile than the GPS units perhaps a premium Gaia subscription.

If she is in th Phoenix area, she will be in definite desert country and will need hiking gear for those condition, but mountains are never far away. She will probably need equipment for that environment as well.

Good problem to have!!

Congrats to your daughter for wrapping up school, and to you for getting her off the payroll!

Would an InReach GPS + Satellite communicator be a viable option?

She'll be in the Prescott area.

This! A Garmin inReach Mini will give her both off grid navigation and communication.

She was under very heavy cover low down on the mountain. A mirror might have helped the first day. The weather turned cloudy the second day. A strobe might have helped. She built a fire, but it wasn't spotted by the aircraft FLIR. Keep in mind this was right before the solstice, when we had 19 hrs 17 min of official daylight. During daylight the earth warms, which tends to degrade FLIR performance. Also, it is possible she built the fire after the aircraft stopped flying that day.

No, the SAR aircraft would almost certainly not be routinely guarding any ham frequencies. If it were a search over water, they might be guarding Marine Ch 16.

A better bet would be to carry an aviation band handheld radio. Call on 121.500 MHz AM, the Aviation Distress (VHF Guard) frequency. In Alaska back in the day, before sat phones, Spot, and InReach, parties in remote areas sometimes would carry an aviation handheld for emergency use. The idea was that if you saw a plane anywhere in the area, you could try to call them. I recall hearing at least one anecdote where a party in a remote area managed to call an airliner flying over at 30,000 ft, who relayed their distress message.

Best idea of all is to carry an InReach or PLB.

A orange signal panel might have worked. Came to my mind because I ordered a couple of them a few days ago, 27 inch by 27 inch.

https://i.postimg.cc/hGkNyHVC/orange-signal-mesh-panel-640x640-9.jpg

Thanks AKSAR. I’m 100% with you on carrying a PLB or a SEND.

As a non-aviator, I don’t own any handheld radios that can transmit on air band; and I don’t know of any ham handhelds that can. If I lived in Alaska I might pony up for one. If I were carrying a larger ham transceiver (I have an Icom IC-705, which is quite backpack-able) I’d likely be able to call for help without regard to whether an aircraft was overhead.

Have there been any testing with available to the general public coloured smoke grenades?

Like those from https://enolagaye.com/

A bit about the hike and terrain. The Pioneer Ridge Trail climbs about 5000 feet (1500 meters) in about 4.5 miles (7.2 km). It is a very long, steep, and challenging day hike. For obvious reasons, most hikers typically want to go as light as possible. The upper part of the mountain is alpine tundra, and relatively easy to search. The lower part of the mountain is dense brush, devils club, and heavy tree cover. Searching the lower densely vegetated areas by aircraft is not at all effective. Searching on the ground in that terrain is very challenging.

While a small signal panel would be easier to spot than a person wearing dark clothing, it would still be very tough to see from the air under the tree cover.

I am aware of no such tests. I am skeptical that a small smoke device would help much under that vegetation cover. I think the small amount of smoke from that sort of device would be so dissipated by the time it got above the trees that it would be very hard to see from the air. A military smoke grenade would have worked (they were effective even in the Vietnam jungle), but hikers are unlikely to have or carry a military smoke grenade.

Note that even an InReach might have problems getting a signal out through the woods, as their transmitter is very low power (I think 1.6 watts). A PLB has a much more powerful transmitter (5 watts as I recall), and would probably be the best choice in that situation.

How about a signal mirror? I imagine skillful operation would be handy. Most of my use has been in relatively open terrain.

Garmin inreach does both

Better would be an orange space blanket, orange on one side, silver on the other. Plus you can use it for warmth and/or shade.

I’d say, just ask her which one she would actually use! Then buy accordingly! Nothing like discussing the options before a purchase.

That's actually what I ended doing. She felt that a Garmin handheld GPS with topo maps and an electronic compass (eTrex 32X) would be best for her right now.

She'll also be getting a rifle that she's been wanting as a graduation gift. She's a great kid who worked real hard to achieve her childhood goal of becoming a veterinarian.

A bit later I may also surprise her with a PLB. Cheap insurance.

FWIW, Garmin GPSMap 66i incorporates inReach functionality including SOS. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/623975