'Death By GPS' Increasing In America's Wilderness

An anonymous reader writes "Every year, more and more Americans are dying in deserts and wildernesses because they rely on their GPS units (and, to some degree, their cellphones) to always be accurate. The Sacramento Bee quotes Death Valley wilderness coordinator Charlie Callagan: 'It's what I'm beginning to call death by GPS ... People are renting vehicles with GPS and they have no idea how it works and they are willing to trust the GPS to lead them into the middle of nowhere.'"

Comments

Re:Bear Grylls don't need no stinkin' GPS

[Luminary Crush]

... and then he'd pack it in for the day, take the camera crew out for a nice dinner at the nearest steakhouse, check into his hotel and be all fresh for the next day's shoot.

Bear is at best entertainment (think 'fear factor' outdoors), at worst a fraud. A real "survivorman" is Les Stroud, who packs in all his own gear and films everything himself, alone... and actually stays out in the wilderness for the duration.

Re:who can forget the nightmare of james kim

[Dracolytch]

No, more broadly, and more important:

If you're lost/stranded, never leave the protection of your car.
Please Remember What's First!

PRWF

Protection
Rescue
Water
Food

Importance is in order. Do not give up protection without a extremely high chance of rescue.