Cell Phones on the trail

“Does anyone carry a cell phone on the trail?”

“Once but it didn't get a signal.
The only thing I may carry remotely similar is my 14 channel radios if anybody else in the group has one.”

“I don't, Rich. That is one of the reasons I go hiking...to get away from all of that. Plenty of people swear they feel safer having one along (hmmm, echoes of the gun thread) but I have seen too many guys whip them out as soon as they have a signal to call for messages and such. No thanks!”

“I bought a Tracfone and few months ago for emergencies only and carry it on dayhikes. The air time is expensive so that's all it's good for.”

“Rad carries one because Jennifer checks on him to make sure he's not at a strip club.”

“I don't worry about things happening on the trail just if I break down driving there or if vandals disabled my van at the trailhead.”

“Which trail head are you leaving your vehicle at? LOL
Cell phones are better left at home IMHO. First-Aid kits are better.”

“Not bloody likely.

Last thing I want to hear is the damn thing ring.”

“Pretty soon all cell phones will be satelite fed. Incorporate the satelite GPS data and you not only have lists of accommodations at each interstate exit (1 example), but their telephone numbers at pushbutton access if you want to call them, instant GoTo capabilities to find the place.

...And you'll never loose a signal no matter how far out in the wilderness you are. All that in the watch on your wrist. You'll see!”

“I was hiking up Mt. Tam (Marin Co., CA) last weekend and ran into a guy on his cell phone. Was about to kick him off the edge of the trail, but remembered that my cell phone was somewhere in my pack (turned off, of course).

I think they are pretty silly as emergency measures, but they are pretty good for "chilling out the angry girlfriend you are two hours late to meet for dinner cause you decided to explore that side trail" measures...”

“The only reason I take it on the trail is because of car break-ins at some trailheads. I've never been able to get a signal on a trail out here.”

“Here in Northeast PA it's sad to report I've had my two back windows broken by some drunk throwing beer bottles through them. My friend's tires were flattened with an ice pick on another trip and another's car had his side window broken and ransacked when we were out snowshoeing for 3 hours. I try to get dropped of at some local trails by friends or family anymore because of this, but I can't always catch a ride.”

“I went on a hike with four other guys last year and when I got my pictures back, one of the guys was on the frickin' phone in at least 4 of the pics. We were at a high enough elevation and close enough to a major cell corridor that we had almost constant coverage. Now THAT'S a wilderness experience.”

“walkeydude,

actually i carried one so that YOU could make sure that i wasn't at the strip club!

the only times i have carried them is if i was meeting someone (once) and if i was going to have someone pick me up at the end of a trip (twice). in those instances, it is off, until i need it.”

“Budder, you made me shutter!

The first time I am sitting peacefully at a lake listening to nature, and I hear a cell phone going off at the camp across the lake, I will probably cry. There will be no further escape.”

“Rad
..........or when Jen call you to tell you about a BIG MASSIVE Storm comming in.”

“that was the first time that she was supposed to pick me up at the end.”

“and i was pretty damned glad to have it. i'm surprised i didn't tote it much after THAT!”

“I carry it turned off. I like the idea of having it just in case I need it and there is good reception. I haven't found that it hurts my wilderness experience and I don' t like the idea of leaving it at the trailhead.

When I get to the top of Mt. Whitney, I am going to call someone and tell them where I am! I think I will call my sister in Turkey (if she has a phone).”

“a cell phone is unecesary, but a sat phone is considered gear and thus is good.”

“this is how i feel:

-bring it if you want it.
-DON'T talk on it, near me.
-NEVER let it ring.”

“..........Unless it's Jen with the weather report.”

“Amen brother Rad !!

they do come in handy if trying to meet you at the trail head..you give awful directions man..”

“LOL!!!! yeah, everlost... err.... evergreen!

and, duder, i called her. she would never even try to call me.”

“I don't even own one!!!! However, this past summer working for the NPS up in Noatak Preserve they did provide a SAT phone. It was kinda neat calling family and friends from the middle of the Arctic just to say "Hi". I can see how a SAT phone can be nice to have if you were in the middle of no place like I was. Granted I did also have a ELT to use, last resort of course, but it was really fun rapping with others free of charge. Thanks guys!!!”

“is a SAT phone just a reaally powerful cell phone, but satellite based, instead of towers?”

“On solo trips I take a cell phone to keep my girlfriend happy. It stays off all the time, but it gives her peace of mind to know that I have it.

I'm not real fond of carrying it, just because I'm pretty careful about pack weight, but I do admit that it probably is a good idea if you are alone. As careful as you are, you may still someday take a bad fall.

Cell phones are tools. As are GPS units and guns. All of which seem to be under heavy fire from certain parties. Some people may not like technology on the trail, but it's inevitable. That's the way things are going and we need to get used to it. If the presence of a phone enables someone to enjoy the wilderness, I'm all for it. Just don't disturb my wildeness experience!”

“No towers out there, the phone had about a 3 to 5 second delay and made people sound like they were talking thru a can and were depressed. They're sweet though kinda of bulky but for the most part will work anywhere.”

“I carry mine on the trail too... having said that, it goes off as soon as I put on my pack. I have turned it on a few times to see if I could get cell coverage if I needed it. The answer is yes, if I want to climb 2 or 3,000 feet up out of the valley to use it!!!

Hmmmm.... somehow I think if I'm hurt bad enough that I need to call for help, I won't be climbing any ridges! Maybe I'll just carry my mirror & whistle from now on... ;o)”

“I took my youngest son
on a trip last summer,
I carried the cell phone for the first time...it's small and light weight and was off until he wanted to call mom and tell her he was having fun.

I wouldn't want to hear phones ringing in the backcountry but out going calls seem harmless enough.

I plan on taking my cell phone on our up coming JMT hike ...but it will be off until we need to use it.
(Need to call for our ride to pick us up)”

“Mr. Walker, how old was your son? How long was the trip? I took my little one (not quite five) on a dayhike last weekend. He walked at least 5 of 6.5 miles All By Himself. He would have gone longer, except that he got a boo-boo on his finger, which dampened his spirits.”

“Rad,
Yea, that's basically what it is. Just a strong transmitter and a translater board to change the signal.”

“I don't even keep mine on in town! I WILL take it hiking from now on. If the baby is with us it will be off. If she's not it will be ON. I'd hate for something to be wrong at home and be unreachable. I don't like them but they are a valuable thing to have if there's trouble so I carry one.”

“I have one. Never turn it on unless I have to make an urgent call and never while driving. I have carried it on the trail only to make calls to check on my kids.”

“I take mine with me but leave it off unless I need to make a call. I check it a couple of times a day (near summits) to see if I have service and to check if I got any messages. I do call home most nights to check on my wife and kids. Something could happen to them so I worry. Something could happen to me so they worry.

I don't understand how my phone turned off in my pack could ruin someone's 'wilderness experience' as they strut around in their Gore-tex and polypro, eat out of titanium pots and sleep in nylon tents.”

“If the wife says I can go hiking with the guys ... If I bring my cell phone ....

I will bring it - I will call her each nite; then shut it back off.

If I had hiked X miles in - and then heard a phone ring ... %$#*%%$#$”

“Hello. Oh I thought I heard this ringggggg! RR”

“Ken
My son was 10 when he did his first trip into the Golden Trout Wilderness. He carried his own gear and everything. I wanted his first trip to be very enjoyable
so we only traveled 6 miles and then just kicked back.”

“A couple of years ago I went on a trip with my dad and the kids. My dad brought along a cell phone. When we got to camp he pulled out the phone. The next thing I Know my kids are talking to Grandma. I kept my mouth shut but something didn't seem right. It took away that secluded feeling that we all go out for.”

“Call me a purist or whatever, but even the idea of a cell phone on the trail is disturbing. Yeah, SAT phones are fine (maybe? I have my doubts) on Everest base camp, but that's a friggin city anyway, I've heard. Anyway. . . in the way I think of wilderness, cell phones defeat the purpose, even off and in the pack. Of course, phones buried in the pack are better than duck-taped to your ear. But, in my experience wilderness is about getting "the genuine meaness of it all" to paraphrase Thoreau. There was an article in Backpacker a year or so ago about a guy who spent a summer solo out in the Alaskan bush, with no contact whatsoever with the outside world besides the knowledge that he looked upwards at the same stars. Most of our trips aren't like that, and I'm not saying they should be. But, I'm sure at least one of the reasons most of us go out into the woods is to feel the exhiliration of being totally and utterly on your own. And although we might think cell phones comprise most of our day-to-day 'meaness,' I don't think they really have a place in the wild.”

“My experience has been like most. I carry one in Off mode and call the wife from a ridge top once a day. She worries less this way and I enjoy talking to her for a few min. That's all there is to it.”

“pisgahforest- just wait till you have teenagers at home alone. You'll take along the phone... mmmoooooooooohhhhhhhaaaaaaa”

“pisquahforest,
I bet you hate TNF too, don't you?”

“Damn straight deathmarch! I am I really that easy to pigeonhole? Lol. . . Ewwww. I dread the day that I have teenagers to worry about. It's rough enough worrying about myself. No offense Pamster.”

“I can just see it now. Someone gets hurt or gets hypothermia on a trail in the wilderness and can't use their cell phone due to lack of adequate service coverage and ends up dying. Afterwards, the family of the "victim" sues the cell phone company for lack of service and involuntary manslaughter. Family then goes to D.C. to tesitify to the FCC that if there was signal coverage this never would have happened and little Johnny would still be with us toay. "Even if it saves one life, we should fix this before someone else dies." Ten years later the ridges and peaks are littered with cell phone towers in wilderness areas and national parks. I realize this is an extreme scenario, but nevertheless, isn't out of the realm of possibility the way things are nowadays.

Oh, I don't carry a cell phone on my backpacking trips, all of which are solo. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert and don't have the need to talk to someone every day. My wife understands and doesn't mind. She has a copy of my route and knows when to expect my call when I get back to the trailhead. Plus, I save a few ounces and get to have a great wilderness experience for a week, or two. To each his own, I guess...”

“The real deal here is that a cell phone will not get a signal anywhere in the Pisgah so naturally pisgahforest don't like em! LOL!

I have carried mine with me on many hikes and have yet to hike anywhere that I could get a signal at all so therefore I just keep it in the truck til I get off the trail.”

“I've never carried a phone, but if I did it would be off at the bottom of my pack. As for coverage, it depends a lot on what type of system your phone is set up for. TDMA and CDMA phones are more likely than GSM phones to find a signal because most of them support analog calls, and the analog infrastrucure is much more prevalent in remote areas, at least in North America.

Sat phones are still a long way away from being small and widely used. Everyone is afraid of getting into it after Motorola's failure with the Iridium system. Also, It is a lot cheaper for carriers to slowly update their existing systems than to do a complete overhaul that includes satellites. Right now the plan is to introduce 3G (third generation) systems toward the end of this year and next year in larger cities. Their main advantage is faster data rates for wireless internet stuff.”

“The cell phone call came from the backcountry of Olympic National Park in Washington State. "I need a rescue," the hiker said.

Park rangers asked the caller if he was lost. No, the hiker said, he knew where he was. Was he injured? No. Did he have enough food? Yes. Well then, what was the problem?

"He had a meeting in Seattle," said Larry Nickey, search and rescue coordinator for the park. "He didn't have time to hike out."

The whole, sad story.”

“thanks Kleety, way to make me paranoid

Is Olympic Park a tough hike?”

“Piece o'cake. Unless you have a meeting...”