Brandon Wilkes was hiking last year in Britain’s Peak District when disaster struck. The mountains were foggy and his friend Ben slipped on the wet trail as they walked along a narrow ridge with steep drops on both sides.
Contenuti
- Apps to prepare
- Tips to survive
- Accendere
“The scariest thing about the ordeal was not knowing exactly where we were,” Wilkes told Digital Trends in an interview.
But Wilkes’ phone saved the pair, and they joined the many people who have been rescued every year thanks to their mobile phones. Experts say that you can do a range of things to increase your odds of survival by using your mobile phone most effectively.
Recently, a New Zealand snowboarder described his rescue after falling through a crevasse, using his iPhone to signal for help. In an Instagram post on March 27, Tim Blakely described how his iPhone’s SOS feature aided his rescue. When you push the right buttons, the app automatically calls the local emergency number and sends them your location.
View this post on Instagram Igienico A post shared by Tim Blakey (@mrtimblakey)
“This past week has been a wave of emotions and introspection, and I’ve not really known what to do with this experience,” Blakely wrote.
In Wilkes’s case, he had downloaded the app what3words, meant to give rescuers directions to remote locations, after seeing a post about it on Twitter.
“After I gave the location to them, we could put all of our focus and attention onto Ben to ensure he was in the best shape we could get him into,” he said.
Apps to prepare
If you’re heading out into the wilderness, you might first want to download some reading material to study survival skills. Jeremy Scott Foster, the CEO of the adventure travel website TravelFreak, recommends the SAS Survival Guide app for would-be adventurers. “This app is the ultimate survival guide that everyone should have on their phones,” he said in an interview with Digital Trends. “It offers information and quizzes to help you develop your survival skills, has a sun compass, and a text-to-morse encoder.”
Didn’t pack enough snacks for a longer than expected stay in the backcountry? Foster suggests you should study the Wild Edibles app. “If you are camping out or find yourself lost somewhere for a day or longer and need food, this app will help you know what plants in your area are suitable for consumption and how to prepare them,” he said.
Tips to survive
Survival experts say that having the right apps and a mobile phone can be a lifesaver when venturing into remote areas.
Don’t give up hope when things look grim. Hikers get lost all the time and are rescued by their cell phones, according to survival instructor Christopher Nyerges.
“People with phones who were lost simply called 911 and were able to get rescued. This is quite common, and most of the time is not in the news,” he told Digital Trends in an interview. “People lost in local Angeles Forest canyons — out for a day hike and get lost.”
If you do get lost, Nyerges recommends first checking your GPS on your phone before the battery dies. “The real key is not to wait until you are lost, but to plan and know the trails and carry basic gear,” he added.
Dan Baird, head of the California Survival School, said you shouldn’t give up on trying to reach rescuers even when it seems like you are too far away for your phone to have a signal. In the U.S., 911 calls are designed to push out across all available cell networks.
“So even if you show no signal, your call or text may still go out on another carrier’s signal bandwidth,” he told Digital Trends.
Accendere
Having enough power is critical when heading out into the wild. You might want to invest in one of the best portable chargers in case your phone runs out.
“Even if you have a phone signal, your phone is not much use dead,” Baird said. “Keep your phone charged and if you are going remote for the day bringing an inexpensive battery recharger can make a world of difference.”
If you’re running low on juice, try turning off battery-draining features, For example, closing unused apps, turning off Bluetooth and wifi when not using, and putting your phone in airplane mode will help it from losing battery if you need to conserve it, Baird said.
Keep in mind that cold weather will drain batteries. “Keep your phone warm next to your body to avoid losing battery faster if it’s really cold outside,” Baird said.
If you can’t get a cell phone signal try going uphill. Cell phone towers often work on “line-of-site;” if there is any cell service in your area, you are more likely to access it by going higher to get line-of-site with cell phone towers, Baird said.
“We’ve been places where we lose signal a mile into a forest at ground level but can access the cell signal five miles farther in by climbing to the top of the highest hill in the area,” Baird added.
Se trascorri molto tempo in aree remote, potresti prendere in considerazione l'acquisto di un dispositivo satellitare o un dispositivo di messaggistica satellitare. Un dispositivo di messaggistica satellitare di base come il punto X offre la possibilità di inviare e ricevere brevi messaggi quasi ovunque nel mondo e costa meno di $ 300. Anche un telefono satellitare, una volta proibitivamente costoso per tutti, ma ora i viaggiatori più duri possono ora essere avuto per circa $ 600. Baird usa l'Iridium 9575 per le spedizioni. "Raccomandiamo dispositivi di rete Iridium per una migliore copertura in aree remote di tutto il mondo", ha detto Baird. Wilkes ha detto che ha imparato una preziosazione preziosa dalla sua recente esperienza escursionistica. "Non andrò a fare escursioni senza più il mio telefono con me", ha detto. "Anche ora se andiamo a fare escursioni, possiamo sempre portare una banca di potere in modo che possiamo essere certi almeno uno di noi avrà accesso al loro telefono se le cose vanno a sud."
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