Cautionary tale about walking alone in the wild

[GaleW]

I think that on the main Camino routes in Spain it would be an unnecessary expense. Mobile phone coverage in Spain is very good and spots without a signal of any sort are very rare in my experience. And while the less popular Caminos may see little pilgrim traffic especially in winter the chances are good that help will be on hand soon. I rented a personal locator beacon once for some off-road walking in the Australian outback when I knew that I would be out of mobile phone range but I would not do so on the Caminos in Spain.

This is true for the Espiritual Route?

 

[dougfitz]

This is true for the Espiritual Route?

It is. I walked it in 2023, and there was reasonable mobile coverage along the whole of the land route. I didn't check whether I had coverage on the boat up to Padron, but it seems close enough to towns etc along the river not to be a problem, and you're not alone then in any case. lnstalling AlertCops is almost a must-do these days when walking in Spain. That said, if you do contact an emergency response centre (112/999/000, etc) modern mobiles will share your location details with them automatically in most cases.

 

[GaleW]

It is. I walked it in 2023, and there was reasonable mobile coverage along the whole of the land route. I didn't check whether I had coverage on the boat up to Padron, but it seems close enough to towns etc along the river not to be a problem, and you're not alone then in any case. lnstalling AlertCops is almost a must-do these days when walking in Spain. That said, if you do contact an emergency response centre (112/999/000, etc) modern mobiles will share your location details with them automatically in most cases.

Thank you Doug. I have downloaded the Alert Cops app and will make sure it is active when I arrive in Porto. I appreciate your taking the time to answer!

 

[dougfitz]

Thank you Doug. I have downloaded the Alert Cops app and will make sure it is active when I arrive in Porto. I appreciate your taking the time to answer!

You should be able to register on the app in Porto, but it won't work until you are in Spain, or at least close enough to be using one of the Spanish network providers.

 

[Bill905]

I've read that the one of the best pieces of survival equipment is a laminated photograph of your loved ones.

I think that's a great idea and a fantastic personal reminder to keep safe! I will supplement that on my next Camino by adding contact info on the reverse side!

 

[witsendwv]

It appears that T-Mobile is going to partner with Starlink. Starlink connections will be made available free to call emergency services regardless of your provider. It looks like it won't start until next year though and have no clue how it would work, but we have Starlink as our internet provider here in rural WV and it has been excellent.

 

[Liica]

Here is an interesting article from the BBC website that is a good safety reminder for people who venture into unpopulated areas.

Let me emphasize right away that there is not much applicability to the Camino Frances or other popular routes. However, all of us who have walked routes where other people might not be seen for days, have probably experienced a few moments when we thought "Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't be here alone and without communication. I must walk very very carefully!"

The article highlights some sensible precautions that can be taken.

I use a Garmin and like it very much. With gps working about 10 hours a day in the mountains (no phone signal) I can hike about 3 days without having to charge it. As far as I remember because actually I never let the battery discharge 100%.
If you use only the watch, it will work about 40 days or more.
I program it to send an e-mail to my sister, so she can track my steps until I finish the hike.
It also has this emergency things (falling or calling) that I never needed Since then, I never used my apple anymore.
I totally recommend garmin.
The only issue (maybe I have to recalibrate it) is that it’s always giving me false thunderstorms alerts. This is annoying, but maybe something I have to do or update.

 

[dougfitz]

The only issue (maybe I have to recalibrate it) is that it’s always giving me false thunderstorms alerts.

On my epix, it is possible to set whether this alarm is active and the rate of pressure drop that triggers the alarm. It might be a bit of trial and error to get this right, but I would never see this as a false alarm. It represents an objective local measure of a more rapid fall in local barometric pressure, which is a key indicator for potential thunderstorm activity. It's a forecast, not a guarantee!!

 

[GaleW]

I use a Garmin and like it very much. With gps working about 10 hours a day in the mountains (no phone signal) I can hike about 3 days without having to charge it. As far as I remember because actually I never let the battery discharge 100%.
If you use only the watch, it will work about 40 days or more.
I program it to send an e-mail to my sister, so she can track my steps until I finish the hike.
It also has this emergency things (falling or calling) that I never needed Since then, I never used my apple anymore.
I totally recommend garmin.
The only issue (maybe I have to recalibrate it) is that it’s always giving me false thunderstorms alerts. This is annoying, but maybe something I have to do or update.

Which Garmin model do you have?

 

[GaleW]

You should be able to register on the app in Porto, but it won't work until you are in Spain, or at least close enough to be using one of the Spanish network providers.

Is there a similar app for Portugal?

 

[dougfitz]

Is there a similar app for Portugal?

I'm not aware of one, but these things can change quickly.