I recently went for a
mountainside run in
the desert on a hot
afternoon, which I
would not advise. I’d already assisted a heat-distressed
hiker off this trail once before. On
the afternoon at hand, the heat-exhausted
hiker did not make it off the trail.
She collapsed a half-mile out. By the
time I arrived, several fire trucks, police and
paramedic units were on the scene. At least
a dozen personnel in full uniform carried
gear up to the stricken hiker, only to call in a
helicopter.
Trail rescues here are relatively
commonplace. Figures are not immediately
available on how much it costs the
municipality, but I, for one, cannot afford
to rent a helicopter, even on a nearly never
basis. I wondered why there wasn’t a level of
assistance between “hiking partner help” and
“helicopter”—a Pre-Distress Alert System, if
you will.
P-DAS would be a localized network for
trail enthusiasts who may need assistance, but
not necessarily emergency services. P-DAS
would entail a free, downloadable iOS/Android
app that distressed hikers could use to notify
a volunteer network of their location and need
for water or other basic assistance.
The app would tie to a GPS API for
smartphones that in turn posts to a localized
website designed to send text alerts to active
volunteers. Local TV stations could also post
P-DAS activations on websites or run them
as community service notifications. P-DAS
might also be incorporated into specialized
unlicensed devices that work in the TV band
in order to provide reach into areas where cell
service may not be available.
The hiker I saw was clearly in need of
emergency services, but if there were a predistress
system, perhaps she wouldn’t have
tried to make it down the trail on her own to
the point of heat exhaustion.
It’s worth considering.