Off-Grid Communication
I recently took two of my kids on a tour of South East Utah. We drove 1300 miles in 5 days and visited 10 parks/recreation areas. We visited Dead Horse Point State Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, Valley of the Gods, Horseshoe Bend National Recreation Area, Bryce Canyon National Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Goblin Valley State Park. It was a great trip and it was a great time to practice skills, test gear, and work through contingency plans.
I like to have a good mix of planning and general outline of an itenerary, but still leave some flexibility as things play out. This trip was no different. I know generally where we wanted to go but we had a few stops that were unplanned and we skipped a few things we had on the list. During the trip we were frequently without cell service and needed to have backups for communication and navigation.
So what was helpful?
GMRS Radios: While we only had a once vehicle there were a few times where we used GMRS radios for communication. If you have more than one vehicle it becomes even more useful to communicate between vehicles (with or without service). I have a radio mounted in my vehicle plus a couple handheld radios. This helps if we're on a hike, exploring, or if I'm navigating an obstacle in my vehicle offroad and have a spotter out of the vehicle or if we split up for any reason and need to be able to communicate efficiently within close distance. I prefer GMRS to HAM because it's easier and the license covers the full family. HAM is more capable, but requires more time and resources to get implemented. If that's your thing, it's great. If it's not, then it can be difficult to get licensed. GMRS is much easier on that side.
Satellite Comms: I carry a Zoleo satellite communication device and have an iPhone with satellite capabilities. I use both and they are both handy. They aren't nearly as convenient as regular cell phone use but in an emergency, you'd much rather have something like this that works anywhere. It also adds to the peace and comfort for those back home getting a nightly check-in knowing you're safe.
Offline Maps: Cell service would go in and out. I'm sure we've all experienced the frustration and annoyance (at best) of having your navigation stop mid-route while you don't have service. You can't re-route or re-start your directions. And if you don't have any idea where you're going that can be a more than just an annoyance. So first off, I use OnX Maps and have the entire state downloaded to my phone. I can at least see where I am on a map and work my way from there. You can also do this with Google Maps but I haven't used that feature nearly as much. A road atlas is also a great thing to keep in your car. While it would only get pulled out in pretty dire circumstances it would be great to have that if you needed it. There are many apps that can do this (verify for yourself as I don't have personal experience with most of these): Gaia GPS, iOverlander, The Dyrt, Campendium, etc. You can also use other devices like the Garmin Overlander. I also like to print off directions of the estimated route before I leave so I can at least have a general idea of direction and route. Lastly, I made sure to load my maps before we left any location where we had service or WiFi. If we stopped in a town for gas I would check my maps and re-load if necessary. Almost anywhere in the country will have service within an hour drive, but making sure that you are headed in the right direction is important.
Many of these things take prep work before the trip to make sure things go smoothly. You need to charge batteries, print off and download maps, update apps, sign up for (or unpause) services, etc. A few minutes ahead of time will make things go smoother on the road. And when something does go wrong you hopefully have a working backup ready to go. It was a great way to put to the test several of my emergency plans and refine and improve my skillset, gear, and execution. In the upcoming newletters we'll talk about some things that didn't go according to plan.