Forum Index > Trail Talk > Will NW Hikers let me post a request for someone to call 911 for me if I don't come back?
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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 2:01 pm 
CS wrote:
So you start the Reliable Friend service, you have a small staff overseas that checks up on hikers overdue, at 20k subscribers then Garmin can justify buying you out.
So..I could get rich off of this. Need to drum up a good ad campaign. Let the fear-mongering begin! Backpacker Magazine and Outside would be my go-to for this.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert

rbuzby
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rbuzby
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 2:11 pm 
CS wrote:
you have a small staff overseas that checks up on hikers overdue
I once travelled to India to train workers to take over my job and the jobs of 50 other people in my department. The workers there were a lot like here, in that some were great, some just ok, and a few were totally incompetent. But there were some unique challenges with language too. "Hello Mr Hiker, my name is STEVE, I am calling to ascertain your safety status regarding your hiking outing in the national park of the North Cascades. Before we continue, I need to advice you that this call is being monitored for the quality purpose. Do you require me to contact the local authorities to initiate search and or rescue? Are you able to walk, or will a helicopter evacuation be needed?" I am hoping Tom will chime in with the official "You can/cannot do that here" from NW Hikers. Regarding posting an itinerary and asking for a call if you dont make a post that says you have returned.

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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 2:40 pm 
rbuzby wrote:
I am hoping Tom will chime in with the official "You can/cannot do that here" from NW Hikers.
No need to wait and hope. It's not going to happen. Who would monitor, who would be responsible, etc. Nope, nope, nope. But for $25 per trip, I will be your Semi-Reliable Friend. up.gif

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert

mosey
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rbuzby
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 3:00 pm 
No need to wait and hope. It's not going to happen. You may be confused as to what I am asking for, with all the interesting suggestions that popped up. I am not asking NW Hikers for anything at all, other than to allow someone to post an itinerary. As with any post, people can choose to respond or not respond.

Kim Brown
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neek
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 3:27 pm 
rbuzby wrote:
Regarding posting an itinerary and asking for a call if you dont make a post that says you have returned.
Let me make sure I understand. The proposal is to post personal info, and the exact time window you'll be away from the house, and the fact that you have no one trustworthy to look after you, to a public forum? I think Kim's right this could be a good money maker, for someone at least.

jaysway, zimmertr, fourteen410, mosey  Cyclopath
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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 4:51 pm 
rbuzby wrote:
I am not asking NW Hikers for anything at all, other than to allow someone to post an itinerary. As with any post, people can choose to respond or not respond.
I see. Well you could start any time if it's just a post. There isn't anything to allow or disallow, is there?

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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contour5
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 9:13 pm 
I can personally vouch for the reliability of Kim Brown as a rescue person. When I needed to be rescued, it was like -BOOM– there she was! I’m not joking! I’d probably still be out there, flailing around, if it hadn’ta been for Kim.

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FiveNines
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PostTue Aug 02, 2022 10:34 pm 
contour5 wrote:
When I needed to be rescued, it was like -BOOM– there she was! I’m not joking!
Glad everything worked out. Three quarks for KB!

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Kim Brown
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 10:18 am 
Ya durn goon. I figured anyone having the 'nads to approach a foxy chick alone at a trail head and ask for a ride into town is either 1) a nice person, telling the truth and really needs help or 2) a bad guy, and I'll miss my after-hike dinner because I'd be dead before I get to the restaurant in town (I hate it when that happens) I tossed a coin in my head and figured what the hell. I was almost dead anyway (suffering the beginning stages of giardia - extreme exhaustion). Glad I did! We had a nice, grubbin' meal at the restaurant hungry.gif epicure.gif chow.gif burger.gif pig.gif (at least in my mind we ate together, didn't we?) hijacked.gif

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert

mosey
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jaysway
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 11:54 am 
This is a compelling business idea! While most people probably have someone they trust in their lives (family, friends, boss) who can serve this purpose, I could see this service as being superior in that it could automate the check-in functionality to prevent human errors, i.e. your spouse thinking you are coming back on a Wednesday and not a Tuesday. It would need to be relatively cheap, and I agree with CS that this might make the most sense as an add-on service to Garmin. A big factor in its success would be balancing false positives with false negatives, although Garmin surely deals with this already. As far as user dates, addresses, and trip details falling into the wrong hands...could you design a system where the person's sensitive data is encrypted even to the service itself until the trip's window is expired (ex. 3 day trip, you specify beforehand that if you show up 1 day late to alert the authorities, now it's day 4 and the alert is now activated)? And if you check the "I'm good" box before the alert goes out it marks the trip as successful and deletes the sensitive data? This is not my area of expertise so take this idea with a huge grain of salt.

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SeanSullivan86
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 12:11 pm 
A google search yielded this: https://hikeralert.com/ $9 / year

rbuzby, CS
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CS
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CS
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 12:43 pm 
SeanSullivan86 wrote:
A google search yielded this: https://hikeralert.com/ $9 / year
That's interesting they've been around since 2012 and yet no one knows of them, but they're still around so shows there's some business viability. I wonder how many subscribers they have. It's a bit limited though, you really want them to reach out to authorities like IERCC:
Quote:
HikerAlert.com IS NOT a professional emergency response service or search and rescue service, nor is HikerAlert.com affiliated with any such organizations. HikerAlert.com does not directly notify or contact any official search and rescue authorities. It is the responsibility of the User's selected emergency contact person(s) to notify any and all appropriate authorities.
Update: I think what you'd want to do is essentially make the Reliable Friend service to be a IERCC partner and be just like any another supported device, just you have some human smarts around it and make trip report planning a cinch etc.: https://www.iercc.com/en-US/supported-devices/

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rbuzby
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rbuzby
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 1:20 pm 
Tom says it's ok to post a post asking if someone will call 911 if I/you don't come back. Since that was such an easy yes, I will next ask him if he will wash my car for me. I think it is wrong to wash cars, but I don't mind if someone else does it. That's probably a new thread though.

Cyclopath  seawallrunner  Ski
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Slim
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 2:13 pm 
rbuzby wrote:
Since that was such an easy yes, I will next ask him if he will wash my car for me.
I like your style smile.gif

"Lean mean money-making-machines serving fiends"

Ski, rbuzby
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seawallrunner
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PostWed Aug 03, 2022 4:38 pm 
Why not cut out the middleman and send $25 directly to your friendly neighborhood SAR organization? Benefits: 99.9% of trips end well. So this is a useful and completely on-brand way of fundraising for additional equipment, gear, etc with a useful public service. SAR would know where the person is hiking, what they are wearing and will be able to initiate a search sooner, with many of the usual unknowns crossed out. They may also retrieve the missing person more quickly as a result. Communications - when confirming receipt of the trip plan, SAR can also include messaging about the 10 essentials, Leave No Trace, trail closure links and avalanche report links (in season) and any other pertinent information The lone hiker without reliable friends will be a *well prepared* lone hiker without reliable friends dizzy.gif dizzy.gif dizzy.gif

rbuzby
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