Glad to see more detailed information (and hopefully less frothing at the mouth).

Looking at the trip he was making, it's rough, wild shield country, and a wild, powerful river. The only way to self-extract is to run the river, including portages.

My feeling, from the start, was that a basic communication breakdown made his ordeal considerably worse. If I understand correctly, the initiation of SAR was delayed by almost a month because his family assumed he was taking extra time on purpose.

To each his own, but personally I'm not comfortable with a mushy return date. When travelling solo, I have always tried to set a firm date with a reasonable margin for delay, so that it's crystal clear when I am overdue and possibly in trouble. This gets the SAR ball rolling promptly, and knowing that keeps me from doing desperate things that might make my situation worse.

Philosophically, I understand the desire to experience wild country without the chattering of the wired world imposing on my solitude. But there is no doubt that a means of communication would have been a wise addition on solo trip like this.

Sat phones are prohibitively expensive for many, and SPOTs are only now finding their way into mainstream stores. PLBs are certainly the most cost-effective since prices have finally dropped to a point where I would consider one. But PLBs are not yet well known in the wider world. I suspect a majority of capable and experienced outdoorsmen have never even heard of them.