I think keeping it simple applies to all parties involved.
Rescue rats should be content with being called out when there is evidence of a problem, not trying to rescue people before they want or need it.
The Forest Service/BLM/NPS/etc agencies don't need more tech than they can't handle anyway - paper logs work fine. Many more animals use trails than people (I've seen footage of a female griz with 3 cubs walk down a trail 5 minutes after 2 hikers), and I doubt any sensor will be accurate. There are millions of 4 legged weeds (white tail deer), moose, elk, you name it, using the trails, because human trails follow old animal trails, and human trails are wider and better maintained (in the eyes of a critter) anyway.
I keep it simple when I go out in the mountains, and that's why I go: to get away (or try to) from all the complexity. I don't want to be recorded/counted/surveyed when I'm out in the woods.
I hike and climb alone in grizzly country, and I'm aware that if I fall and/or get chewed (getting chewed is an incredibly rare possibility, anyway), I bought the farm, and it's my problem.
(I've been out with wilderness education groups, and that's the only time I/we carry radios (of course, for insurance reasons), and we don't tell the students we have them.)
Keep it simple - every place on earth doesn't need to be wired.
People can handle uncertainty - it's good for you, really.
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I think keeping it simple applies to all parties involved.
Rescue rats should be content with being called out when there is evidence of a problem, not trying to rescue people before they want or need it.
The Forest Service/BLM/NPS/etc agencies don't need more tech than they can't handle anyway - paper logs work fine. Many more animals use trails than people (I've seen footage of a female griz with 3 cubs walk down a trail 5 minutes after 2 hikers), and I doubt any sensor will be accurate. There are millions of 4 legged weeds (white tail deer), moose, elk, you name it, using the trails, because human trails follow old animal trails, and human trails are wider and better maintained (in the eyes of a critter) anyway.
I keep it simple when I go out in the mountains, and that's why I go: to get away (or try to) from all the complexity. I don't want to be recorded/counted/surveyed when I'm out in the woods.
I hike and climb alone in grizzly country, and I'm aware that if I fall and/or get chewed (getting chewed is an incredibly rare possibility, anyway), I bought the farm, and it's my problem.
(I've been out with wilderness education groups, and that's the only time I/we carry radios (of course, for insurance reasons), and we don't tell the students we have them.)
Keep it simple - every place on earth doesn't need to be wired.
People can handle uncertainty - it's good for you, really.