I don't know much about PLB's or SPOT's, never having used them, but a few things about the story cited bug me. Why was the group in the Grand Canyon not evacuated after the first activation of their SPOT? How did the guy panning for gold get dehydrated? Wasn't he panning on a stream? And why in heck would anyone need to be evacuated from Convict Lake? It's a developed area with paved roads, stores, a restaurant, a campground and cabins. Even if these yahoos were above Convict in the back country the trails are clearly marked and easy to follow; I've hiked out of there at night several times.

I agree we need some sort of legislation to deter misuse of these SPOT devices (I find amusing the "Yuppie 911" nomenclature). Can't see myself using one of these things. I've been backpacking for almost 40 years now, much of it solo, and have only been in trouble once, and that was because I made a stupid mistake of trying to cross a stream in flood.

A lot of this comes down to personal responsibility and experience. Me and two buddies got caught on Donohue Pass in the Sierras a few years ago in a freak early-season snow storm. Our wives had made us carry a satellite phone, yet we never even considered using it -- our experience told us we would make it through the night O.K, and our sense of responsibility told us that to use the phone in that situation would be wrong and dangerous.