The Solution to Montana Hikers Getting Lost

On my show this morning, we talked about a missing hiker. She was in the wilderness and, according to Associated Press, she was lost 20 miles from Missoula. Her brother said she hadn't returned from a hike and it was 1 a.m. The word went out and search and rescue sent crews out to find her.

After my show ended the hiker was found alive and well. Again, hiking doesn't make sense to me. Walking in the woods, alone, without a cell phone seems really dumb. I soon found out from my listeners that there are places that have no bars. No cell towers.

So having a cell phone may not have helped, but there has to be a way to make sure people don't get lost and die in the woods. It's bad enough you could be killed by a bear or a mountain lion.

One listener asked, "How can we be able to get high definition pictures sent across the Galaxy of Plato, but a person can get lost and die in the Montana woods?"

Good point. It's the 21st century, hasn't anyone invented a "thing" that hikers can use to get help if they are lost?

All the money and time that we waste trying to find people lost in the wilderness because they are hiking. Why are my tax dollars going to find hikers who get lost? Don't misunderstand, I don't want to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, I don't want anyone to die because they got lost. But please, if are going hiking in Montana, THINK. What if you get lost?

So I think I know how to solve this problem some hikers are having - bring a flare gun. A cell phone may not work, but they have things today called satellite phones.

Satellite phones are very expensive, so a hiker may not have one. But if you don't have a flare gun and a satellite phone, don't go hiking. Now hikers may say they can't afford such things. The solution: if you go hiking, get lost without a flare gun or satellite phone, you must pay the cost of the rescue.

Another Montana problem solved by Dominick Brascia.