Remote hiking issue

[joreidy]

I recently did the 3 munros in West Glen Affric which included a cycle out and back from the public car park east of Loch affric. What took me by surprise was that I had absolutely no phone signal for the entire cycle and walk. Needless to say, my partner was at her wits end having not heard from me for about 12hrs until I got phone signal back in Cannich. My question is, has anyone had similar experiences like this? I'm now in a situation where my partner does not want me going out hiking in the remote areas of the north west highlands. I obviously do want to continue hiking in remote areas as it is an escape from my 9-5 computer based desk job. I'd like to consider myself to be reasonably experienced having bagged over 200 munros with about 75% being solo. One solution I guess is getting a GPS tracker and emergency beacon. Does anyone have any other advice?

[al78]

This is a difficult one. Your partner's response is emotional, not logical, so throwing statistics at her is unlikely to achieve anything. I have the same issue with my family and me cycling on the road, which unfortnuately was reinforced when I was nearly killed a few years ago when cycling to work. If it were me, I would have a heart-to heart discussion with her and try to get her to reveal what the core of the problem is. If you have bagged over 200 munros, that in itself must demonstrate that a) hiking up hills is not a dangerous activity, and b) if you have managed that without incident, you clearly have good experience in a variety of conditions and are competant at risk assessment. What you could do is whenever you go off on a walk in a remote area where you are unlikely to get a phone signal, give her a time when you will be in contact, that time being when you know you will be close enough to civilisation that you will be able to phone or text.

[rockhopper]

My better half has got used to it over the years as most of my hills are solo. I leave details and mapped tracks on the PC of my planned routes, including options, and agree a time by when she should hear from me - we generally allow quite a bit extra time just in case. We started that system in the days before decent phone signals as I'd often go the whole time without a signal - nowadays I can generally get some sort of signal on at least one summit to contact her. Longest I've gone without contacting her was the 2.5 days for the Mullardoch 12 - no phone contact from very early on the Friday morning until a few miles along the road on the Sunday afternoon but we'd discussed it beforehand and she knew she probably wouldn't hear from me until the Sunday afternoon.

[jamiecopeland]

I had a similar issue when I started out. Now I use a Garmin InReach Mini. Friends or family can track me and if absolutely necessary we can communicate via sms. Obviously there’s a cost involved, but it gives peace of mind and I get to hike wherever I want without any hassle!

[Caberfeidh]

This is an ideal opportunity to wangle a Personal Locator Beacon as a birthday or Chrimbo prezzie. I got myself one, they are expensive but the price of not having one is so much higher. Try taking your bonnie lass with you (make sure the weather and conditions will be good) and she might see that all is generally well.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Signal-rescueME-PLB1-Registration/dp/B00CE8R770

[ScotFinn65]

I had a similar problem.

Garmin mini In-Reach solved it for me.

[dt27348]

It's not an uncommon problem.
My solution was a Spot Messenger which I've had for quite a few years now. Let's my wife know where I am and that everything thing is ok.

[AyrshireAlps]

As above, garmin inreach, show her how to track you via the messages you send.

Also, explain to her that you need solitude, and that includes connectivity. Or even better, take her with you.

[WalkWithWallace]

I got an inReach Mini to put my partner's mind at ease. Its an upfront cost and a financial commitment thereafter though at £13pm subscription fee. But it's worth it, if it puts your partner's mind at ease.

If you don't want to go to the expense of a satalite communicater then you can give your partner a route card, estimated time of finish and when you'll touch base with her. More often than not you'll get a signal at the summit so you could send a message saying your now descending your last Munro and heading back to the car.

[Moriarty]

Interesting change in perspective over the last few decades. Go back about 20 years and some bluff old crusties were suggesting even taking mobile phones gave a false sense of security because of very patchy signal.

I'm wonder if anyone is doing an MD or PhD in the separation anxiety that younger people have when faced with a loss of connectivity.

All just part of the tapestry of Scottish hillwalking for me, but when I were a lad going away and being uncontactable was a bonus, not a problem. It's astonishing how few places do not have a decent phone signal now.

[KatTai]

My OH knows I don't always get a signal on the hills, I just make sure he knows where I'm going and what time I'm expected to be back. If I have a signal I text when I set off and always text when I'm back at the car, putting in the time I leave so it will send when it picks up a signal and he knows what the actual time I left was. I usually keep my phone on aeroplane mode as otherwise it drains the battery looking for a signal all the time. I did use the beacon thing that viewranger had a few times but I don't think he bothered checking it after the first time to see if it worked so I stopped using it

It was probably just the panic of not being able to get in touch if she is used to getting regular messages when you are out and that suddenly didn't happen, now you know though so can say you aren't likely to get a signal so this is my route, this is what time I expect to be back etc

[Ewen1966]

I leave a route card with my wife and tell her I probably won't be in touch. I have dropped hints about an inreach mini

[Essan]

How on Earth did people manage to climb hills before they had mobile phones?

[davekeiller]

The old fashioned way of dealing with this was to leave a route card along with the expected time of return to civilisation. You're more likely to get signal on summits than in glens, but if there isn't a transmitter within range you won't get mobile signal. The only option in that situation is a satellite phone, either standalone or integrated into a GPS tracker.
Time was that people suggested leaving a note on your car's dashboard, but you insurance company might not be happy if thieves broke in.

[al78]

How on Earth did people manage to climb hills before they had mobile phones?

People worry about their loved ones doing activities they perceive as dangerous. Humans are primarily driven by emotion, not logic.