Satellite Communicator - Why you should carry one

 

When it comes to satellite communicators, I’m new to the game. I only purchased one a year and a half ago.

I had never really thought about it. As I’ve built up my hiking gear over the years, I’ve always focused on safety and survival. I’m not exactly sure why I never got a device sooner other than maybe I thought they would be cost prohibitive.

There have been many close calls that I’ve experienced in my time out in the woods. The most common things are slips and falls. Venturing into unknown terrain means that there could be potential pitfalls and accidents waiting.

Even in parks close to home, accidents can happen. I’m not sure if I become more careless because home feels near but I’ve had some of my more scary moments in my local parks.

I saw the first use of a satellite communicator when a buddy of mine brought out with him to use for contact back home. It was a Zoleo device. At first, I was upset because he was texting while we should have been out of cellphone range and focusing on enjoying the woods. He brought it because he is a carer of an elderly parent and this gave him peace of mind in case there was an emergency at home.

After the trip out with my buddy, I began to think about the usefulness of a satellite communicator and also how vulnerable I am when I’m on a solo exploring adventure.

I’ve always thought that if I got injured in the woods that I would just make it back to my vehicle and drive myself to the closest hospital or clinic. The reality is that I may not be able to do that. I may be incapacitated where I cannot make it back to the vehicle or even drive. No one would know that I was in need of help until I missed my check-in time and only after a period of time would police and rescuers be called having a general idea of where I could be.

I researched the Zoleo and looked at the types of plans available. I don’t need to chit-chat while on adventuring. I just need a simple check-in feature, the occasional message, and SOS functionality. The lowest price plan covers that for me and comes in at $25 per month. Buying the unit is the next cost which is approximately $269 and there can be sales found. Both of those costs seemed high to me but when I then considered how much my life is worth, it became an easy decision to realize I needed one of these.

Now that I’ve had the device, it has become quite useful:

- I’ve been able to extend my stay out in the woods when I’ve felt the need. I am able to message back home and say that I’m planning on spending a little more time adventuring.

- The check-in feature allows me to quickly message that I'm OK and send my GPS coordinates.

- When I got two flat tires and my Jeep was crippled. I was able to connect with a friend and get them to organize a tow truck to come out to me on the logging road. He was able to send my GPS coordinates to the Tow Company so they knew where on the logging road to find me.

I’m a converted user and can’t believe I did not have this on my pack sooner.

You never know when you are going to have an emergency. We have the technology so why would we not use it?

If you like to travel the back-roads or hit the hiking trails then a satellite communicator should be an essential carry item just like a first aid kit.

See my YouTube video.

Lixada Multi Fuel Stove

 

Being a hiker, a hunter, and a dirt road explorer, I’m always interested in different options for cooking food.

I’ve got many different types of mini stoves for cooking and have always been looking to complete the set so I have something for every scenario.

The newest addition to my stove collection is the Lixada Multi Fuel Stove that I purchased on Amazon.

The Lixada Multi Fuel Stove comes ready to use isobutane canisters as well as being able to burn naphtha (Coleman fuel or white gas), gasoline, diesel, alcohol, and oil. I also purchased a couple of adapters so that it could use propane and butane.

I will mostly use the stove for naphtha however it is nice to have the option to use the other types of fuels if the need arises.

On the weekend, I took it out for a test that I was looking forward to. The first time using it to burn naphtha.

The initial test seemed to go well.

I poured the gas in the bottle and then attached the plunger unit and screwed it on. I pumped the plunger approximately twenty times. A little gas sprayed out of the top but this was due to me not having the plunger screwed on tight enough to the bottle.

You will want to connect the bottle to the stove and then release a small amount of gas into the holding pan on the stove. Turn off the gas as this point then light the gas in the pan. There will be a large flame appear and this is OK. This flame will heat up the tube that runs over the stove which will boil the gas inside the tube and vaporize it. After a couple of minutes before the flame totally dies down, you will be able to turn the gas back on and there should be a controlled flame.

So the test went well and I turned off the gas. When I tried to relight the stove again, I got a burst of flame and then it went out. It as almost like the gas line was clogged. I did not take the time to inspect the line because I needed to get on to other tasks that I had come out to the woods for. I will take the stove for another test quite soon to make sure that it still works as expected.

The problem I had with the stove was getting the plunger unit off the bottle. The bottle was still pressurized so when I unscrewed the plunger there was a mist of gas expelled from the bottle and I got gas on my hands. I will need to do further research to understand how I can release the pressure before unscrewing the plunger.

At this time, I’d still say that overall the stove seems like a good investment and I’m happy with the purchase.

I made a YouTube video where I show the test of the stove.

HME Truck Hitch Game Hoist

 

I’m a hunter and one of the things that is nice to have is some sort of hoist to hold an animal up for processing.

Living in an apartment condo, I do not have a yard where I can hang an animal for processing so that type of stuff needs to be done out in the woods where I am hunting. The animal needs to be split up before I bring it into my unit.

Last fall, I was finally lucky enough to catch a deer after four years for trying. They always say that once you catch one, that is when the works starts. They were not kidding!

Where I was able to get my deer, there were no reasonable trees to be able to throw a rope over and hoist up a gambrel to make the work that was to come easier. Instead, I had to attempt processing it on the ground while rain was coming down and darkness descending. Being my first time skinning, it made the endeavour more difficult.

Had I been able to hoist the deer up, it would have made for a more pleasant experience and made the work a little more efficient.

I drive a 2 door Jeep Wrangler so space is at a premium. If I’m lucky enough to catch a deer, I still have to be able to get it in the Jeep along with the rest of my gear.

When looking through the hunting section of my local Canadian Tire, I came across a product that looked interesting, a hoist that would fit in a 2 inch receiver hitch. It looked pretty good however, I didn’t know how it would fit in my Jeep with all my other gear. The price was $200 and I didn’t want to waste money on something I couldn’t use.

I was finally able to determine that the game hoist should indeed fit inside my Jeep and if it did not, I’d figure a way to bolt it on to the rear tire carrier bumper I have. So I went ahead and purchased it.

On the weekend, I was able to take it out to open up the box, see what was inside, and put it together.

The first stab at putting it together is here on my YouTube video. 

I probably spent about 30 minutes getting it out of the box, assembled, and connected to my Jeep. Now that I know where everything is supposed to go, I would think it’ll be 5 or so minutes to get it together in the future.

The tubing is solid, everything fit as it should, and I was impressed with the quality. It does seem a little wobbly where it goes in the 2 inch receiver hitch but that will not be a problem.

When I disassembled the Game Hoist, I was able to fit the component parts quite easily into my Jeep.

Overall, it seems like an excellent product and I’m happy to add this to my gear that I’ll take out with me on my trips out hunting.

Drinking Water Safety

 

I’ve seen channels that say it’s OK to drink the water, it is clean because they are in the mountains. This is irresponsible because there is risk to drinking that water.

When drinking water from a stream, creek, river, or lake you do not know what has happened to that water before you got there. Something could have defecated or urinated in the water. Something could have died in the water. Something could have walked through nasty stuff and then into the water upstream. The fact is, you don’t know.

Most people think it is just a potential case of diarrhea from Giardia – “Beaver Fever” but there are more organisms that exist: Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Aeromonas, Yersenia enterocolitica, Leptospirosis, Listeria, or Vibrio, as well as other viruses and protozoan parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

This article lists some of the bugs that are out there in my home province of British Columbia alone: Infections in the natural environment of British Columbia, Canada -ScienceDirect

Some people will say that they have been drinking from mountain streams for years with no ill effects. Maybe they are just plain lucky. It depends on where you drink the water and when. It could be that the water has washed away the contaminants before they arrived. It’s really a roll of the dice.

A February 8, 2018 article by Christine Wilcox in Discover Magazine called Backpackers, Don't Listen To Slate: Science Does Support Stream Water Treatment | Discover Magazine , epidemiologist Kathy Benedict ,PHD was quoted:

The gastrointestinal symptoms that can occur—intense diarrhea, vomiting—aren't easily managed by hikers on long trips in the middle of nowhere. "If they have an acute situation, it can actually be quite scary," says Benedict, "especially if they're out there by themselves, because they can get themselves into a lot of trouble very quickly."And people, even people with rapid access to medical care, do sometimes die.

One parasite that really got my attention personally is Toxoplasmosis. It comes from felines and where I live in British Columbia on Vancouver Island, there is a large concentration of cougars in the wild.  

In 1995, it is suspected the parasite had managed to get introduced to the Victoria, B.C. residential water supply. It took some luck and good detective work to gather the evidence to point to the probability of one particular reservoir being the culprit.

Outbreakof toxoplasmosis associated with municipal drinking water. The BCToxoplasma Investigation Team - PubMed (nih.gov)

e-2118.pdf(cdc.gov)

Referencesin Outbreak of toxoplasmosis associated with municipal drinking water- The Lancet

Another article which is a good read talks about Toxoplasmosis potentially blinding a person. The article written April 6, 2022 by Patrick Durkin can be found here: UndercookedVenison Can Cause Rare Blindness Disorder | MeatEater Cook(themeateater.com)

The good news is that freezing meet will kill off the Toxoplasmosis parasite. 

 So what can you do about this? Gathering water from tree leaves and hollows is not a solutions because the water can have bugs and parasites in it there as well. Birds can and do defecate in those areas as well.

You can do the following:

1) Bring your own water, of course

2) Boil the water

- Bring it to a rolling boil for one minute – for altitudes above 5,000 feet (1,000 metres), boil water for three minutes

3) Filtration or purification pumps

- Mark Young has an excellent video regarding one on the market that also filters chemicals, heavy metals, and micro plastics. Water-To-Go Water Filtration System - YouTube. The website for Water-To-Go is: Water Filter Bottles for Travel, Camping, Hiking, Travel (watertogousa.com)

 4) Purification drops and tablets (chlorine or iodine)

- See this page from the US EPA that shows how to use household bleach: Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water | US EPA

 5) Make an evaporation trap in the ground

- Greg Gallaci commenting on a MythBusters post found here had the following comments about Solar Stills: 

The US Army taught us about solar stills, but warned us that making enough water to drink was not the point! In order of importance: 

1) They keep you anchored to one spot, basically immobile while waiting for the water to drip, drip, drip. You chances of being found rise if you don't wander around. Your camp and stills are easy-peasy to spot from the air. 

2) By staying still and in some shade, your need for water and food decreases. Less chance of falling/getting hurt. Less chance of encroaching on animal territories. 

3) Staying focused on one task prevents 'option panic'; a state where desperate people will 'try anything' to save themselves. "Let's burn the tents and make lots of smoke!"

 4) Hope. You see the water droplets form, you don't feel so helpless and alone. A sense of mastery is returned. Fear is displaced by curiosity. "Can we make the still work better?" instead of "Is the still gonna make enough water?" 

5) You get enough water to wet your mouth and talk about your big plans for when you all go home. Their usefulness goes way beyond the water they provide.

 When treating water – remember to get the rim if you’re drinking from the same vessel that you used to scoop up the water.

Remember: If you’re in a real life survival situation, you need to be even more careful. Diarrhea will dehydrate you quickly.

To sum up, drinking water in the wild should not be considered 100% safe. What you get away with today may come to haunt you later on down the road.

Please be careful when you decide to go out into the wilderness and bring plenty of water or at least a method to treat water.  

Consider watching my YouTube video on this subject. 

Bear Spray Vs. Firearm

 

It’s Springtime and now is the time that bears start waking up and coming out to feed.

Do a quick Google search and you’ll see a lot of results that say that Bear Spray is more effective than guns in defending against bears. That is debatable and may give people a false sense of security just by having bear spray on their person.

I want to give you some thoughts to ponder.

Bears when running are fast, very fast. Steven Rinella and Remi Warren both tell an encounter they had with a Grizzly and how fast it came into the group of them. They did not have time to think and merely react. Janis Putelis had both bear spray and a pistol out and he instead swatted the bear with a trekking pole. Remi did not have the time to dive 6 feet to grab his pistol or bear spray as the bear ran through them.

Steve Rinella Details After Effects of Grizzly Bear Encounter

HOW I NEARLY GOT KILLED BY A BEAR - Remi Warren | London Real

I've been behind bears in my Jeep and a mother bear and her cubs were running quite quickly to get off the road. Another time I came around a corner at about 50 km/hr (30 mph) and a bear happened to be there and he started running away, tripped and still made it into the bush without me overtaking him.

I was hiking on this trail a few years ago. Maybe I wasn't paying attention as much as I should have. I heard something behind me, I turned and before I could focus, two dogs ran past me and then a half second latter a jogger was coming by and saying sorry for his dogs scaring me.

I had no chance to grab the bear spray to do anything. The bear spray was in my pocket, within easy reach and I was not able to react.

Use of bear spray is dependent on wind direction and timing. You cannot spray when the wind is blowing toward you because it will just blow back and cover you incapacitating you.

A bear intent on attacking you may well run through the spray and hit you. See the story abut Todd Orr who got attacked twice by the same bear.

Todd Orr: Man Attacked Twice By A Bear Shares His Life-Saving Tips | Megyn Kelly TODAY

It is very difficult to take the same encounter with a wild bear out in nature in that given time and circumstance to prove that one works over the other.

Wes Siler of Outside Magazine wrote an article in August 2019 asking Does Bear Spray Work? I highly recommend reading the article.

In the article, it is told that no study has ever attempted to compare the effectiveness of bear spray to that of firearms.

In same article, Thomas Smith is quoted saying:

“When a person is competent with firearms—and I mean competent under pressure—it is an effective deterrent I highly recommend,” he says. “Conversely, those with little to no firearm experience shouldn’t rely on a firearm to save them from a close encounter with a bear.”

In an article from October 4, 2016 by Mike Godfrey on KSL.com called “Utah bear expert weighs in after Montana man's grizzly attack goes viral”, Tom Smith had the below two quotes:

“...unless you have a loaded gun in your hands with the safety off and a bullet in the chamber, bear spray is the better deterrent. “

Smith stresses that if a bear charges you and you already have a gun in your hand ready to fire, then he’d, “Use the gun.“.

One thing that a number of people don’t think about is that there is an expiration date on bear spray. The propellant that is used in the spray could seep out over time rendering the spraying action to an ooze.

Don’t throw away that old bear spray when you replace it. Use the old bear spray to practice using it. Once sprayed, the bear spray can then become an attractant so do do use it on common hiking trails or places where people are expected to be.

Ned Rozell wrote the July 27, 1995 Geophyical Institute article “Pepper Spray Works, But Don't Bet Your Life On It”. He quotes Stephen Herrero saying:

“To rely on the spray as protection while ignoring other bear country essentials---such as storing food out of reach of bears or in bear-proof containers and making noise in thick brush--is just plain stupid. "This stuff isn't brains in a can."”

I'm a hunter and I carry both a gun (or rifle) and bear spray. I'm not relying on them to protect me though.

I'm being more aware of my surroundings and paying attention to the sounds, smells, and what I can see.

I do think hikers should carry bear spray, why not, it's an option. I just think the best is to:

• make noise so the bear knows you're around

• keep earphones off and listen to what is going on

• hike in groups when possible

• if you see a bear – DO NOT RUN!

• Stay calm and talk to the bear

• Check your expiration dates on your spray

Let me know your thoughts and consider watching my YouTube video.