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Kofa Refuge — 6 Comments

  1. Greg … You sure get into some interesting situations. It seems you have a way and knowledge to get through about anything you get into … Especially when you were on your Alaska trip!
    Jim

  2. The curse of the computer vehicle. On my way to court one morning my 2008 Sierra gave up the ghost on I-8. AAA tow to the GMC dealer to found out it was the electronic fly-by-wire foot throttle. $350 later I was good to go.

    But what If it happened on a dirt road in Baja?

    Then at 95,000 miles, the #7 lifter on my Active Fuel Management (AFM) equipped 6 L 4×4 died, leaving me with $4500 worth of engine work. Three months later it happended again, this time on GMC’s dime.

    Point is these new government designed enginees may minimize smog but they are unreliable for remote off-road travel. Now I only take my 1990 Bronco off road. It’s basic enough to fix if it breaks. I also travel with a buddy as often as possible. And perhaps my greatest buddy is my SPOT device which I can use to call for help.

    • Willie, I couldn’t agree more. My personal “go there AND get back” vehicle is Ralph, my ’96 Ranger 4×4. A simple engine PCU (computer), individual cylinder spark coils, injectors. All else mechanical. And all that said, Ralph has a new engine due to persistent coolant leaks into the combustion chambers. Bottom line is that mechanical/electric things WILL fail. Like you, my best buddy is my InReach. It’s a lot like the Spot, but it uses the Iridium network and can send/receive texts and emails. A second vehicle sure makes for easy recoveries – – but we rarely have that option.

      Trek safe,
      G.

      • I’ve tought about the InReach. Do you like it? It seems like the monthly cost is subtantially more than my SPOT. I pay something like $150/year.

        The wife and I are going to do a week of kayak camping on Lake Powell in May. I thought about the InReach, but the change from SPOT has to be compelling enough to justify.

        I can pre-program in messages on SPOT. Mostly I use only one message that says to loved ones, “Starting or stopping for the day”. And of course the cookie crums feature keeps people informed on where we are and the 911 function is really really important to my mental well beingl.

        • I am very pleased with the InReach, which costs me $25/mo ($300/yr). First, it’s on Iridium, which is more reliable than the Glonass (no dropped messages). Second, it is actually capable of back-and-forth communication via texts. I’ve used this MANY times, even once for an essential financial communication. Saved me from having to come out of the back country to deal with it. And yes, it’s also got the tracking and a shared-map feature, SOS capability, etc.

          A little pricey, true, but worth it to me.

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