One of my “ten essentials” when heading out into the backcountry is my Garmin inReach Mini 2. It’s been an incredibly useful tool for getting texts out to my partner (or whomever) when completely out of cell service, which tends to be quite frequent ’round these parts. Aside from the convenience of friendly texts, it provides a sense of security as an oh shit device in case things get real bad self-rescuing is not an option.
The little sucker tends to fly out of pockets as I’m biking down bumpy trails or hiking and often bushwhacking through thick growth. Using a biner to clip it onto a pack is 100% advisable and I follow that advice 90% of the time.
Last month I got out for one last bikepacking overnighter before the cold season fully took grasp. My inReach was tucked into a little pocket on the side of one of my handlebar bags and lived there the entire trip–sans clip. The ride was a rough one, both in road surface and in general effort. We were pretty spent by the end of it.
The next weekend as I prepped for a hike it occurred to me that my inReach wasn’t anywhere I expected it to be.
Not in my usual drawer of outdoor electronics.
Not connected to my SOTA backpack.
Not in my bike pocket where I had the weekend before.
Not floating around in the back of the Honda.
And not in my buddy’s truck.
Sure, when we were bombing down that one hill on day two and hit some of the roughest washboard on this side of the Cascades, the little guy jumped out my bag and bounced his way to freedom. I immediately began looking for a replacement, but it hurt to think about paying for a brand-new one… even though, it’s invaluable.
I gave it a week. Then two. Occasionally looking through the local Craiglist for postings of a found, or even recognizable for sale, inReach. But nothing.
Well fuck me if just a few hours ago I didn’t go looking for a usb power brick when there it was. Sitting right in the drawer where it shouldn’t be, but I can see how it seemed logical at the time in my post-ride haze.
All this is to say, I’m glad that I’ve found my inReach. And I swear that I’ll never travel with it unsecured again.
Until I do.
