Cell Phone Plans from the AT

[Nameless]

First of all, please dont start any arguements about no needing a cell phone when hiking.

I have never carried a cell phone before when hiking, and if i had my choice, i would never carry one. I just do not believe they are needed on the trail. But, I am a young single girl that will be thru hiking the AT this summer (SOBO, i start in 28 days!!!!) and my parents convineced me that if they buy the phone, and they pay for the plan, that I will carry it on the trail, only turning it on in towns. I have them agreeing with me that it will not be used on the trail (and if for some bizare reason i need too, i will walk well out of hearing and visual range of the rest of you). So, now that i am stuck with carrying a phone,

What phone companies and plans have the best, most inexpensive, coverage of trail towns?

Thankyou
Pink

[Mongoose2]

I understand your parents concern for your safety. I often hike with my son, and for safety reasons I do carry my phone. I have always been able to get service with sprint (either in digital or analog mode). PS, buy a phone with max stand-by hours. I have carried mine and it lasted two weeks....off of course....Good luck with your hike. Above all remember; hike YOUR hike.

[Dances with Mice]

tracfone.com pre-paid service.

[Kerosene]

A Tracfone would be ideal, but what you'd really like is a cell phone with a network that has pretty good coverage along the AT. That, and the lightest cell phone you can get since you now have to carry it over 2,000 miles. I'll leave others who have carried a cell phone along the Trail corridor give you their opinion.

Use your bounce box to bounce ahead the recharger. Make sure you keep the phone in a waterproof bag. Shoot for a sub-5 ounce phone, especially since your 'rents are paying for it. You can argue that you'll be adding another (5/16 pounds * 2,174 miles = 679 pound-miles) to your trip, or the equivalent of carrying your 25-pound pack another 27 miles (stick to the 679 pound-miles since it sounds bigger!).

[Tha Wookie]

The US fish and Wildlife service estimate that in between 4 and 40 million birds die anually from collisions with cell phone towers.

Think about that next time you try and get a signal on the AT.

You are financing the degradation of your experience (and mine).

[Doctari]

Re battery life

I have heard, no experience myself, that removing the battery from your phone while not in use extends the life of that battery. I turned mine off for the 2+ weeks of my last section, put it under the seat & parked in the shade, it was dead by the time I got back to my truck. It was FULLY charged when I left it. This was a 6 month old battery.

Perhaps the internal clock & other "silent" functions that stay on when the phone is "Off" drained it. Perhaps the truck getting hot did it in. Or both/neither.

I have seen solar chargers for wilderness charging of batteries, some of these chargers were even foldable. Do a search, my bookmarks got deleted when the computer was rebuilt, sorry.


Doctari.

[MedicineMan]

many many lives (human) saved yearly with cell phones...not that i'm against the lives of birds but a human life is worth more in my mind....just dont do the jackass and yap close to other hikers and i'm sure you wont...when turned off the batteries are usually very slow to self discharge,,,bounce box the charger from town to town....
i was convinced years ago when sea kayaking in the chesapeak area, a paddler was in dire trouble and used his cell to call the coast guard, saved his life AND many needless hours of searching for a corpse

[kevin]

The US fish and Wildlife service estimate that in between 4 and 40 million birds die anually from collisions with cell phone towers.

Think about that next time you try and get a signal on the AT.

You are financing the degradation of your experience (and mine).

I normally just ignore this comment that gets posted EVERY TIME a cell phone question comes up, but am a bit cranky tonight so feel the need to comment.

How many squirrels, skunks, possums, etc are killed annually by cars on roads? Think about that the next time you drive to the trail. How many insects are stepped on and squished every year by people walkng on the trail?

It would be nice if we could OCCASSIONALLY have a thread with someone asking a question regarding a cell phone without a lecture.

[Nean]

Good point Kevin. We as humans all contribute in some way to the degadation of our planet. It is too easy to find something we don't do, then jump on our high horses and ride over those who differ. Good luck on your hike Nameless!

[Tha Wookie]

I normally just ignore this comment that gets posted EVERY TIME a cell phone question comes up, but am a bit cranky tonight so feel the need to comment.

How many squirrels, skunks, possums, etc are killed annually by cars on roads? Think about that the next time you drive to the trail. How many insects are stepped on and squished every year by people walkng on the trail?

It would be nice if we could OCCASSIONALLY have a thread with someone asking a question regarding a cell phone without a lecture.

I'm not going to argue with you, out of respect for the original thread.

In fact, you have a good point.

If you want a real lecture on it, go to the Audobon Society's website.

I think it's been at least a year since I mentioned that scientific study. Boy it sure does upset some people. Rationalizing gets you only so far....

[c.coyle]

The US fish and Wildlife service estimate that in between 4 and 40 million birds die anually from collisions with cell phone towers. ...

Your basic point is correct. Man-made objects (airports, glass buildings, your own car) kill lots of birds, but "estimate", "between 4 and 40 million"? That means they don't have a bloody clue, and are just pulling numbers out of thin air.

This reminds me of an old joke. What's the definition of an economist? A person who, if you forget your phone number, will estimate it for you.

[flyfisher]

What phone companies and plans have the best, most inexpensive, coverage of trail towns?

Pink

I have T-Mobile and I would strongly recommend another service. Having had Cingular service, it was better. The problem with TMobile is coverage. I have often had many bars of reception, but not a TMobile service. I just hate it when I get many bars of service, and the phone just keeps searching.

I had this specific problem on the 170 miles from Adkins VA to Roanoke VA this April on the AT.

[ffstenger]

Cingular has better coverage along the trail. Samsung or LG is the best phone to
get, the battery life is very good, especially if you have it turned off most of the time. your voice-mail will save messages for you and alert you when you turn on
your phone so you can listen to them. Green-with-envy for your upcomming start date.....
Showme

[dougmeredith]

and if for some bizare reason i need too, i will walk well out of hearing and visual range of the rest of you

Don't get too hung up on this. Just use common courtesy. Get a small distance from people. Keep your voice to the same level you would use talking to someone beside you. If you leave the phone on, you might try to use a vibrating ringer.

If someone gets upset because they see you use a cell phone, or because they can hear you talking no louder than they are talking to their buddy, then they are the ones being rude.

Doug

[orangebug]

As far as NC, GA and TN goes, Cingular is not worth the weight of any phone. I've heard better of Vorizen. (I know that spelling looks wrong).

BTW, if you are going to have a bounce box for your charger and such, consider just keeping the phone in it.

And BTW, if you think that providing cell phone signals to hikers is a high priority for these multibillion dollar corporations, guess again. Carry the phone if it makes you more confident for your hike.

[Uncle Silly]

As far as NC, GA and TN goes, Cingular is not worth the weight of any phone. I've heard better of Vorizen. (I know that spelling looks wrong).

It's Verizon. Close, but no cigar.

Living in the mountains near Boone NC, I can attest to the general rottenness of Cingular in the area. I get decent service along the US-421 corridor between Wilkesboro and Boone, and decent service in Boone itself, but too far outside and stuff gets spotty fast.

Cingular has two advantages though: no roaming charges (on most plans but check your fine print), and having just merged with AT&T Wireless. Both of these increases your available towers without increasing your bill at the end of the month.

In Case Of Emergency: If you're trying to use your cell in mountains with spotty service, and you're getting a partial signal (the phone will ring, or will alert you to available voicemail) but can't call out, hike to high ground. If you have topo maps, look for a ridgeline facing a large town, especially with line-of-sight -- if you can look out and see the town, you're more likely to get service from any tower that might serve the town. The more rock between you and the tower, the less likely you are to get service. Valleys are particularly bad, as are ridges facing away from a distant tower -- you could get service on one side of a mountain but not the other.

Hope that helps... and good luck with your hike!

[Drum Stick]

I have seen a cell phone come in handy on the trail during a medical problem and this is reason enough to carry one in my book. I plan to get a cell phone to use during my next thru hike. Also if you spot a fire, do not hesitate to call the fire department. Response time is crucial to stopping the spread of fire. Who knows, you just might save the lives of firefighters, hikers and many animals. Regarding your personal safety, find safety in numbers. There are a lot of great folks in the community and for the most part we stick together.
Drum Stick

[briarpatch]

Expect to be using roaming almost everywhere, so make sure the plan supports roaming without a big surcharge.

As far as battery life goes, at 2.5 ounces, this wind up cell phone charger isn't a lot of weight penalty and would work between charging in town with the plug-in adapter.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/campings...cephchnew.html

I've never seen or used one, just saw an ad for one a while back.

[grrickar]

I carried a phone to keep in touch with the wife. I kept it off and in the pack except at lunch stops or at night when no one was around. For my nightly call, I'd walk 200yds away from the shelter and talk well out of earshot of others. The bottom line is that if people cannot see you on the phone, they would not know but what you were talking to a friend. To me, common courtesy is sufficient when using a phone in the woods or anywhere - just keep in mind that some people will not like the fact you have brought a piece of the world into the wilderness if they see you using it in front of them. Keep out of sight, keep the voice down and no one should make issue with it whether you are in town or not.

To keep the battery fresh, either keep the phone off or remove the battery. If the phone is on (mine was accidentally left on in my pack once) the battery will die quickly since the phone will up the power on the transmitter to try and connect with a tower. No signal+phone left on=dead battery. We did the stretch from Hot Springs to the NOC last year, and we called our spouses from Bluff Mountain, Max Patch, Gatlingburg and Tricorner Knob shelter. After the battery died, we used the pay phone in towns we ran across.

I used AT&T, which is now Cingular, and had moderate success with getting a signal. My hiking partner had a Sprint phone, and between the two of us we could likely have called from about anywhere - there were times when he had a signal and I didn't and vice versa.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

I normally just ignore this comment that gets posted EVERY TIME a cell phone question comes up, but am a bit cranky tonight so feel the need to comment.

How many squirrels, skunks, possums, etc are killed annually by cars on roads? Think about that the next time you drive to the trail. How many insects are stepped on and squished every year by people walkng on the trail?

It would be nice if we could OCCASSIONALLY have a thread with someone asking a question regarding a cell phone without a lecture.

May I add with due humility and respect, my additional desire to see a thread without someone suggesting an ultra light alternative, and on top of that for the sake of God calulating the "pound miles" incurred by carrying a cell. Really if someone wanted an ultra light answer, there's a forum dedicated to just that. There are some of us who don't obsess over the weight savings we'd realize by donating a kidney and /or having all our teeth pulled to save on "toothpaste miles".