We'll be in Yosemite in September. Since my wife is recovering from a broken foot, we don't expect her to be able to do very long hikes so she'll probably start some stuff with me, go back to the car and then come pick me up later. Since I'll largely be out of cellphone and walkie-talkie range, I'm thinking of getting satellite communicators for simple messaging (some basic "No, I haven't fallen off a mountain yet" but also some custom stuff like "pick me up at such-and-such a trailhead at about 5:30pm". These'll just be day trips so multi-day battery life is not a concern for me. I know that the cost of some of the plans (at least historically...I haven't researched these in a while) can rival the cost of the communicator themselves so something that allows short-term subscriptions (monthly or even weekly) would be very welcome.
When I've researched these in the past, I was rather drawn to the Garmins (not least of all because I've owned so many Garmin GPS's over the years) but I'm open to other suggestions. Is anyone able to recommend a brand/model/plan with which they've had good luck?
Thanks,
David