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By Greg Bartlett

I go deer hunting every year. I know that for some in my circle that isn’t very PC but it is my one concession to our hunter gatherer roots. To help me while I’m in the bush, my wife gave me a GPS tracker for my birthday – so that I could map out good deer runs and likely spots for blinds. When I got it I thought it was kind of neat, but neither of us could have known just how amazing a gift it would be. I am alive today to write this because I had that device with me during this past season.

The story is very embarrassing, so pardon me for skipping the details of how I came to be hurt. Suffice to say, that I found myself a two and a half hour hike from my truck with a badly broken leg and cracked skull. As I said, no one in my circle hunts so I was alone. When I regained consciousness, I called the local police station and explained my situation. I had no real idea of where I was, but I got the message out that I was in need of help.

The operator dispatched officers and walked me through first aid to stem the blood loss. During this conversation, I had to root through my pack to find a belt to cut circulation to the leg and I found my GPS tracker. I told the dispatcher that I had this with me and asked if that would help. Once he got some information from me (service provider, username, and password) he was able to pull up my location on his computer.

It is a good thing that he knew what he was about. I was so groggy and nearly incoherent that without his calm patience, I doubt I would’ve been able to get the GPS tracker turned on. I had also apparently sent the police to hunt through the woods five miles south of my location. The officers were rerouted to me and where able to find me very quickly. I am not sure exactly how long it took, but my phone battery hadn’t died so it couldn’t have been too long. They rushed me to a hospital and I was fixed up.

I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t had the GPS tracker in my pack. Or what would’ve happened if the dispatcher hadn’t been as qualified as the one I dealt with.