Feedback on PSMP Aid Boxes

[phydeux]

First off, what does PSMP stand for? (I'm 'investigating & evaluating' first, unlike some Skyline hikers. ). I understand the 'noble' cause of trying to reduce/eliminate fatalities, but also consider a few other things:

Putting stuff up there, even in locked emergency boxes, creates an incentive for unprepared to try the route. If its stuff for rescue personnel, can't they bring there own equipment instead for a rescue? And once folks find the box locations, what's to stop them from posting GPS coordiantes? (don't get me started on morons with cell phones! ). This leads to . . .

. . . Liability. The "attractive nuisance" angle. The more stuff you put up there, the more you'll/PSMP be looked at as a liabile party who has a 'duty' of providing safety for anyone attempting Skyline. The more improvements, the more it becomes something like a 'tourist attraction', like a ride at a theme park. Run that by an attorney and see what they think, especially the PS City Attorney if the stuff will be on City property.

If more rescues and/or deaths occur, will still more 'improvements' be added? When does the upward spiral of improvements/costs become too much?. No matter how good your intentions, you gotta realize there comes a point when "you can't fix stupid." (quoting comedian Ron White)

I hate to be the one to say it, but a few more deaths might be the best way to make folks realize they have to be personally responsible for their own actions, both summer and winter, if they want to hike up the Skyline trail.

just another 2 cents . . .

[ntheno]

Palm Springs Mounted Police. Thanks for your opinion.

[Cy Kaicener]

How about a simple 10x10' or so sun shelter? I had tons of water but no shelter....I could have survived (painfully) if i had shade..

A tent shelter or something more permanent might be a solution but it would need to be stocked with water.
An underground shelter would be even better, but thats a lot of work.
When I used to take an umbrella with me, envious hikers used to offer to buy it from me. I will never know if they were kidding.
I once saw a hiker with a towel over his head. He said his sweat kept the towel nice and damp.
In winter a shelter near the shattered stump at 7200 ft would be good. Anyone that is having problems negotiating the ice on the traverse at 7500 feet would find this shelter a life saver.

[Hikin_Jim]

While caches of supplies isn't a bad idea per se, I think that the idea might prove unwieldy over time; keeping the upper ones stocked might be difficult. Hopefully, no one would plan their hike assuming that they could just use the emergency supplies, but there are a lot of idiots out there. I won't soon forget the person who on this very forum I tried to reason with and persuade not to go up Skyline. I could tell he didn't know what he was doing. He became a SAR incident a few days later.

I think signs, with the death toll on them, would get people's attention.

A word about the current sign:

Perhaps the phrase "rattlesnakes, loose rocks and dirt, brush, scorpions, ticks" is actually counter-productive? These hazards are present on almost every hike that I go on. When I first saw this phrase, I thought to myself, "somebody is just trying to scare me." This phrase actually lessened the credibility of the sign. Just my first impression.

[Florian]

As i commented on another post i'm thinking to remove the cache next time i go up. (Probably not until Sept.) If i could keep it stocked with water during the summer i'd leave it. Like people stock PCT caches. But since i do not go up in summer i'd rather it just not be there at all.

-Florian