View Full Version : Cell phone on Trail
I plan on taking my cell phone and turning it on during certain times of the day or evening. I'm sure I can get a signal near towns...
Does anyone think this will be a problem?
orangebug
12-30-2004, 17:49
Don't be so sure that you will find cell phone signal around towns. For instance, Hot Springs is famous for no service.
If you use your cell phone, consider the courtesy of using away from others. Many view Cell Phones as an intrusion into their sense of well being and "wildness", even if they detect a turned off phone hidden in the bottom of your pack.
saimyoji
12-30-2004, 17:53
There are maps available, (can't recall where I saw them, maybe where I bought my phone: Circuit City) that show the different service areas for different providers. Check to see where you'll be out of range.
ALSO, stay away from other people when using your phone, if you must use it while in a shelter (in a rainstorm, etc.) ASK if anyone would mind, make it QUICK. This will reduce the degree of resentment from anti-cell phone hikers.
As far as receiving calls, keep it on vibrate. If you have it, try text messaging.
Footslogger
12-30-2004, 18:49
I plan on taking my cell phone and turning it on during certain times of the day or evening. I'm sure I can get a signal near towns...
Does anyone think this will be a problem?=======================
Good connectivity is iffy at best along the trail, even near some towns. Yes ...you might get a bar or two on the display but the signal is weak and fluctuates.
Not telling you that you shouldn't carry it. That's your business. Just don't plan on having regular high quality conversations.
Oh yeah ...and hollering lowder because the signal is weak really doesn't work. It just ticks other hikers off.
....CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW ???
'Slogger
AT 2003
grrickar
12-30-2004, 22:25
Just be considerate if/when you use it. Many people loathe cell phones on the trail. A good rule of thumb would be to use it away from others, out of sight and earshot. You'll need to keep it off when you're not using it else the phone will search for a tower, which will kill the battery quite quickly.
A better solution might be carrying a phone card and calling from the trail towns. The Smokies has spotty cell coverage, not sure about the rest of the trail.
Mother Nature
12-31-2004, 22:29
Although in our "real lives" we don't even use a cell phone, we needed to purchase one for the trail trip this year (2004). With elderly parents and a son serving in Iraq, we signed up for voice mail and checked it every couple of days for messages. We used Verizon and for the most part found a signal in most places if we walked high enough. We found it useful for placing hotel reservations and contacting the post offices in towns. The best use of the cell phone was contacting Enterprise car rentals in places like Erwin, Tn that have hiker services scattered over a long distance. Enterprise would pick us up at the trailhead with our rental car and bring us back to woods when we were resupplied. I agree with all of the previous posters... cells are not that welcome but can be useful.
Mother Nature and Smokestack
gardenville
01-01-2005, 00:05
I am thinking about getting a PDA with cell phone built in and a direct internet connection. I want a 3/4 size roll up keyboard also. Then I can connect to the internet and up date my journal download photos from my digital camera and check and send email from the trail. When I can get a cell signal that is.
How would you feel if you saw me sitting at the shelter typing into my PDA and sending and receiving emails? A PDA is about 3" by 5-6" and smaller than a the PocketMail thing. The PDA can be used as a cell phone but that is not why I would have it along. I have never talked on a cell phone. The weight of everything I want is less than a pound.
Happy New Year.
orangebug
01-01-2005, 00:58
You describe either a Treo 600/650 or a Blackberry. Typing on either is a skill to develop, and can burn thru their rechargeable batteries quickly.
You will find some who are intrigued with the toy, and others who will see it as an instrument of the devil. Previously, the pocketmail device has filled this niche, connecting and downloading journal material at a payphone along the way. My experience with a Treo 600 suggests that it is still not a practicle way to journal. YMMV
gardenville
01-01-2005, 01:45
You describe either a Treo 600/650 or a Blackberry. Typing on either is a skill to develop, and can burn thru their rechargeable batteries quickly.
You will find some who are intrigued with the toy, and others who will see it as an instrument of the devil. Previously, the pocketmail device has filled this niche, connecting and downloading journal material at a payphone along the way. My experience with a Treo 600 suggests that it is still not a practicle way to journal. YMMV
I am looking at the Samsung i700. I will have a high speed internet connection with it. It has the battery built into the back of the case (removable) and they give you 2 so you can change it when it is dead. It has a very light "dock/battery charger and will use the same Sec Dig ?? memory stick as the digital camera I want. A Pentax Optio 43 WR (2 AA batteries). The keyboard I want will roll up to the size of a 12oz coke can and is water proof.
I am waiting to see the new Samsung i740 or i750 I don't remember which.
Jigger Johnson
01-01-2005, 01:55
In the Whites of New Hampshire, you will not get any kind of signal. I live about 2 hours away and hike there all the time. I bring my cell and the only place I can get a signal is in Lincoln or North Conway. For those not from the area, they are the only major towns in or around the Whites. There are other smaller towns like Twin Mountain but I couldn't get a signal there either. Not sure if this helps you at all but I guess it's worth a shot to get a signal while you are in town.:)
gardenville
01-01-2005, 02:19
In the Whites of New Hampshire, you will not get any kind of signal. I live about 2 hours away and hike there all the time. I bring my cell and the only place I can get a signal is in Lincoln or North Conway. For those not from the area, they are the only major towns in or around the Whites. There are other smaller towns like Twin Mountain but I couldn't get a signal there either. Not sure if this helps you at all but I guess it's worth a shot to get a signal while you are in town.:)
Hi, Who is your cell phone service provider? With the PDA I can store my journal entries or emails until I get someplace with cell coverage and dump them fast. I know from looking at the service area maps there are a lot of open (no service) areas in the Northern part of the AT. What about on Mt Washington? Thanks
I would much rather see someone with a cell phone as seeing a dog pissing on my pack!
The Old Fhart
01-01-2005, 10:35
I have hiked in the Whites extensively for over 45 years and there is coverage throughout the general area but it is going to be on and off. Some of the places I have called from are South Twin, Zeacliff, Mt. Liberty, Mt. Jackson, Mt. Clinton, Mt. Washington(where I worked), Mt. Height, etc., even at Speck Pond. What you will find is the coverage can be through small cell providers and it can be expensive. Also note I'm talking of calls I've made over almost a decade, all those were not made on just one trip. :)
I also kept the phone off except when I want to use it which prevents annoying others and saves the batteries. Oh, by the way, some of the mountains I listed above have excellent TV reception as well.
Footslogger
01-01-2005, 10:58
I would much rather see someone with a cell phone as seeing a dog pissing on my pack!=========================================
Now that puts a WHOLE new twist on the cell phone issue (idea for new thread ...what you you rather see, someone on a cell phone OR ?????)
'Slogger
AT 2003
Jigger Johnson
01-01-2005, 13:32
Hi, Who is your cell phone service provider? With the PDA I can store my journal entries or emails until I get someplace with cell coverage and dump them fast. I know from looking at the service area maps there are a lot of open (no service) areas in the Northern part of the AT. What about on Mt Washington? Thanks
My provider is Sprint, which will soon be merged with Nextell and supposedly the service is supposed to get much better. As far as Mt. Washinton goes, I have never tried to use it up there but there is a large radio tower so it will probably work. Good luck!:)
Footslogger
01-01-2005, 13:36
My provider is Sprint, which will soon be merged with Nextell and supposedly the service is supposed to get much better. As far as Mt. Washinton goes, I have never tried to use it up there but there is a large radio tower so it will probably work. Good luck!:)=========================================== ===
Honestly, I don't believe it is a function of your cell provider. It's more related to the terrain in the area and the location/number of towers. Both Cingular (recently merged with AT & T) and Verizon have good coverage maps but once you leave the metro areas or the highway corridors and begin to encounter ups/downs and heavily wooded areas the true reception is going to fluctuate between weak and non-existent.
'Slogger
AT 2003
Bandana Man
01-01-2005, 14:26
I took a cell phone on two section hikes, 2001 and 2003, thinking (mistakenly) I would be able to keep in constant contact with my wife and family back home. Between Amicalola Falls and Fontanta, I can only recall one place on the trail where I actually got cell phone coverage. I think it was on the cliff near Muskrat Creek shelter. Cell phone coverage was available in towns, but then so were pay phones.
I will continue to carry the cell phone. It gives my wife comfort, but this year I will also carry a prepaid phone card to use in towns to call home. And ditto what everyone else said about NOT using it around other hikers out of common courtesy.
I would much rather see someone with a cell phone as seeing a dog pissing on my pack!
Have we degraded to the point that it's "either/or," but no neither.
Weary
my cell phone is cinular wireless,no roaming charges,no long distance charges,unlimited nights and week end from 7 to 7,unlimited mobile to mobile
only phone i have,got rid of my home phone when i put my computer on high speed cable 3 years ago,have used my phone on the AT from georgia to dalton mass,from may 2001 to may 2004,love it:sun neo
grrickar
01-01-2005, 15:37
For a journal, I would either carry a notepad and pen or a voice recorder that will record into MP3 format (so you can maximize the storage). I found sometimes we would stop late and I was so tired I would eat, wash up, do laundry and hit the sack. About every other day I would write. If I had a voice recorder, I could have taken notes all along the way, and typed them later if I wanted.
grrickar
01-01-2005, 15:42
One interesting trend that I have seen is that pay phones are going away. I suppose the number of cell phone users has caused that trend. I did find that at the trail towns I have visited there was one available, but take a look around where you live - they seem to be going away slowly. I'm TDY in DC now and there are many places where the phones have been removed, leaving only the Verizon 'box' the phone was once mounted to. Airports and bus stations will likely always have them, those even in those places I don't see that many people using them.
It seems that besides the lack of signal, one of your biggest limitations will be battery life. Unless you are staying in town every two nights, it will be difficult to get enough time to write your journal nightly and use the Internet regularly on the battery life. With a pocketmail device, you get many many hours of battery life and so I think this is a big advantage. I am taking my iPod on my upcoming Florida Trail thru-hike but have purchased an external rechargable lithium-ion battery pack that will give me over 40 hours of charge. So maybe there's a way you can make it work.
8 days to go!@
David
http://www.trailjournals.com/djessop