Thru W/Out Phone?

[Leo L.]

I made the experience that older cell phones have way better reception than smart phones, when it comes to plein talking connection in areas with poor coverage.
Many times, from top of the mountain when you even could see the antenna far down in the distance, the local guy would be chatting away happily with his old Nokia, while my brand-new smartphone kept searching for connections, just to finally refuse to book into any on the list of available nets (be they 2G or 3G).

I never would describe any call phone as a safety device, but just as a "nice to have" item. Always be prepared that it will fail when you really need it.

[Coffee]

I'd love to ditch the call phone but lack of pay phones makes this impractical. As cell phones get more and more obese, the weight penalty is increasing. Last hike where I went without a phone was the JMT in 2013. There were still pay phones in Tuolumne and Reds at the time. Not sure if the pay phones are still there. They are gone from most small towns and roadsides.

[Leo L.]

...
I never would describe any call phone as a safety device...

Sorry... Make this "cell phone"

[slbirdnerd]

More mentally unstable people out there with more crazy ideas and more weapons. If I were a guy, I wouldn't be as concerned. If I had been Emma Gatewood, I wouldn't have been concerned. Today, yeah, it's safer for me to carry a phone.

[tdoczi]

More mentally unstable people out there with more crazy ideas and more weapons. If I were a guy, I wouldn't be as concerned. If I had been Emma Gatewood, I wouldn't have been concerned. Today, yeah, it's safer for me to carry a phone.

do you have statistics that back tat idea up? no you don't, because there are none. if anything, there are statistics to prove the exact opposite. violent crime in our society is on a clear downward trend. fear mongering, on the other hand, is steadily and sharply rising.

[tdoczi]

More mentally unstable people out there with more crazy ideas and more weapons. If I were a guy, I wouldn't be as concerned. If I had been Emma Gatewood, I wouldn't have been concerned. Today, yeah, it's safer for me to carry a phone.

your sig line is kind of ironic giving the view youre expressing, dont you think?

[Puddlefish]

do you have statistics that back tat idea up? no you don't, because there are none. if anything, there are statistics to prove the exact opposite. violent crime in our society is on a clear downward trend. fear mongering, on the other hand, is steadily and sharply rising.

Careful with your use of statistics. She made a simple statement about her comfort level without a phone. That can be based on first hand personal experience, or it can be based on a general feeling of unease based on fear, or maybe a bit of both. You and I don't know her reasoning, nor is it particularly appropriate to ask for more details. Statistics only consider gathered data, and don't easily account for unreported crimes. I can go through my life swimmingly for 99% of the time, but if I'm unfortunate enough to to be harmed that 1% of the time, then the statistics are of zero comfort to me.

Second, let's talk a tiny bit about causality. Perhaps the violent crime rates have come down, in part, because of prevalent mobile phone availability for the most vulnerable people? Statistics are difficult to compare from the past to the present. To every study there are multiple factors and measurements. It's possible that there can be more nutcases, more weapons as well as a lower percentage of violent crime. You can both be right in this case.

I apologize for any thread drift, but I'm rather a fan of statistics.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Lets see, an 18yo comes in here, first post, and asks about NOT using a phone? Any of you know of an 18yo that would even consider being without their phone, ever? Let alone for 6 months?

Some quick internet research would reveal that the OP probably doesn't fit the mold of your typical teenager/young adult.

[TexasBob]

..................... Not sure if the pay phones are still there. They are gone from most small towns and roadsides.

I would bet that your average 20 something thru hiker has never seen a payphone much less used one.

[imscotty]

I'd love to ditch the call phone but lack of pay phones makes this impractical. As cell phones get more and more obese, the weight penalty is increasing. Last hike where I went without a phone was the JMT in 2013. There were still pay phones in Tuolumne and Reds at the time. Not sure if the pay phones are still there. They are gone from most small towns and roadsides.

As of last summer there was still a pay phone at Reds, I did not notice at Tuolumne. Did not use them either way. I prefer to get on a computer, catch up on the news, check in with my family and be done. I used email to text services for a fast response. I used the library in Mammoth and the very slow Internet connection at MTR. I did worry about the folks back home at times, but as usual the world got along just fine without me for a few days.

[Coffee]

I would bet that your average 20 something thru hiker has never seen a payphone much less used one.

I'll bet that's true.

[colorado_rob]

Some quick internet research would reveal that the OP probably doesn't fit the mold of your typical teenager/young adult.

My quick thought on the OP is that he/she is a troll, not a real question, someone's idea of a joke, really not at all funny. One post then out? troll. If I'm wrong, kinda refreshing though, the thought of a teenager not glued to a phone, most are 24/7.

OTOH: doing a long hike without a phone seems completely foreign to me personally; my 7 ounce phone is my camera, my Kindle app reader and my regular check in with loved ones. I even have the AT guide loaded on it in PDF format; though I used the paper version of AWOL most of the time, it was nice to have a weightless backup. 7 ounces of bliss & total convenience! I've even used it once in CT to find my way back onto the trail after a wrong turn.... zoom in far enough and the AT shows up (as does your position if GPS is on) on my Google-maps. I never loaded it, it was just there.

BTW: tdoczi is right, violent crime is way down, sad that most think the opposite. Victims of the media.

[DavidNH]

I thru hiked the trail in 2006 without a cell phone. You don't need one. The only reason every kid on the trail seems to have a cell phone is that today's youth are addicted to them. They can't go an hour, or a day without texting, calling, or emailing someone. So glad to finally discover at least one hiker that is willing to unplug on his hike!

[imscotty]

I would bet that your average 20 something thru hiker has never seen a payphone much less used one.

I have a rotary phone in my house. When my kids were little their friends would ask to use the phone and then just stare at it dumbfounded. I like being a curmudgeon. Of course now even the elementary school aged kids get cell phones.

[rafe]

I would like to thru-hike without my phone. I just like the freedom, plus don't want the extra pounds, and don't feel like worrying about keeping it dry and charged throughout my hike.
I understand this course of action would mean a lot of hitch-hiking into town instead of calling a shuttle, but would that really be that bad?
And is there any serious safety argument saying I should bring my phone?
Is anyone else considering going phone-free?

This is a rhetorical question, I take it. Quite a provocative topic for one's first post on a hiking forum.

Safety? Might matter, or might not. Convenience? Mostly a plus. A burden? Minor, but manageable.

I don't think of the AT as a Lewis and Clark experience. A tie to civilization can be for ill or for good.

I hiked phone-free for the first thirty years or so, these days I like having it. Makes a good camera if nothing else.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I would bet that your average 20 something thru hiker has never seen a payphone much less used one.

I tried to find payphones while section hiking between 2009 and 2011. I eventually gave up.

Funniest time was when I tried to find one listed in the guidebook at the intersection north of agony grind in NY. After a of minute of looking I realized that I had rested my pack against the post that was formerly the mount for the payphone.

[Francis Sawyer]

Good for you! Don't be a slave to a stupid DEVICE! I don't own a cell phone and I manage to get along just fine. Phones are just tools but the most important tool is the brain. People are allowing the phones to do the thinking and that's just wrong. Don't get me started!!!!!!!

[pauly_j]

On a slightly related but off topic subject, are there any internet cafes along the trail?

[Puddlefish]

My quick thought on the OP is that he/she is a troll, not a real question, someone's idea of a joke, really not at all funny. One post then out? troll. If I'm wrong, kinda refreshing though, the thought of a teenager not glued to a phone, most are 24/7.

OTOH: doing a long hike without a phone seems completely foreign to me personally; my 7 ounce phone is my camera, my Kindle app reader and my regular check in with loved ones. I even have the AT guide loaded on it in PDF format; though I used the paper version of AWOL most of the time, it was nice to have a weightless backup. 7 ounces of bliss & total convenience! I've even used it once in CT to find my way back onto the trail after a wrong turn.... zoom in far enough and the AT shows up (as does your position if GPS is on) on my Google-maps. I never loaded it, it was just there.

BTW: tdoczi is right, violent crime is way down, sad that most think the opposite. Victims of the media.

It's possible to be correct, without being pertinent.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Good for you! Don't be a slave to a stupid DEVICE! I don't own a cell phone and I manage to get along just fine. Phones are just tools but the most important tool is the brain. People are allowing the phones to do the thinking and that's just wrong. Don't get me started!!!!!!!

Yeah, but most phones only weigh 6oz or so. You can save almost 36oz on average if you don't take your brain.

(Now you know how The UL craze got started. )