My daughter, her husband, daughter and dog are on a hike in western Maine. I’m their shuttle service. They were dropped off eight miles up a rough dirt road. It’s a good thing they have a 4X4 pickup.
In my younger days I often hiked those mountains. I wish I was going with them, but I’m in no condition to do so right now. At any rate, I’m happy to assist with the shuttle service.
Cell phones have changed hiking. My daughter called to inform me of a change of plans. They decided to take a different trail out of the mountains and cut their hike a day short. Back in my day I had to hitchhike. It wasn’t easy to get a ride after too many days in the mountains without a shower. The other option was to park a vehicle at your take out point and hope nothing happened to it. One year a porcupine ate the rubber off my bumper.
There are places along the route where cell phone service service is spotty. With that in mind I lent them my Garmin Inreach. It’s a device that communicates directly with satellites -no cell service needed. It has a emergency button to call in the rescue teams if needed. That’s a great feature but you don’t push that button lightly. It also allows for text communication with any cell phone and that’s a really useful option.
I’m looking forward to seeing them again and I’m glad I could help in a small way.
-Sixbears
Family support, it's a beautiful thing :-)
ReplyDeleteAny reason they cut the hike short, everyone's OK? Our son went up the Kilkenny on foot a couple days, came out swearing at himself because of the extra water flowing and the appearance of extra rocks. He made it back ok, just tireder than going in.
ReplyDeleteHere's an update. I got a call yesterday and they cut the hike short. I picked them up on a different trail. Their dog was having a hard time and got a minor paw injury. It took them 10 hours to do a 5 mile stretch. Everyone is fine now.
DeleteWow, adventures come in ways we never expect them. I'm glad all is well.
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