Do you talk on a cell phone while hiking?

[the starchild]

Can You Hear Me Now?

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

I have never seen a "talkaholic" hiking and talking on a cell phone at the same time. This "person" who people seem to be so opposed to, I am convinced don't really exist.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?


king tut, believe it or not, a few weeks ago we had to wait to pass a group of 4 coming down monadnock cuz 3 of them were on cel phones walking and talking; blocking the whole trail. they were making plans for dinner and catching up with friends and had no idea we were behind them cracking jokes about them. as we passed i made a few more jokes, those i KNOW they heard. donkeys on hiking trail!?!? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

to the other question about the annoyance of a person talking on a cel phone versus a person talking to another person, the cel phone person is usually oblivious to what's going on around them and usually talking louder.



CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

 

[David Metsky]

I've had the exact same experience with folks talking among themselves, not a cell phone in sight. We actually had to run past them because they simply would not acknowledge our existance. I still have no idea what their problem was.

It's not the phones, it's the hikers.

-dave-

 

[MadRiver]

I do not own a cell phone, so this is a non-issue for me. However, I do carry a walkie talkie when my wife and I do trail maintenance. I will usually hike to the end of my section and work my way back to the trailhead while my wife will hike half-way and worker her way back. If she runs into a problem or some area needs more work than normal, she will call and let me know. We do not chat for the sake of chatting and limit our conversation to the issue at hand. We also never talk when others are approaching or when we stop to say hello to other hikers.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

New York now has a law making it illegal to drive while using a cell phone.

It's a start. I wish all states would adopt a similar law.

 

[dug]

New York now has a law making it illegal to drive while using a cell phone.

It's a start. I wish all states would adopt a similar law.

I agree...to a point. Unfortunately, if I'm on the road going to one appointment, I am providing remote support to another appointment via my cell phone. If I actually had to get to both physical locations, my usable hours in a day would decrease and my gas bill would skyrocket. Speaker phones and headsets should be allowed, as I still have my hands and eyes available to drive. It's no different than talking to your travel partner.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I voted for NEVER in the poll but would use it in case of an emergency or to help someone else in trouble, of course whether I could actually get a signal or not is another issue. To me people who talk on a cell phone while hiking, just for the sake of talking,are sort of missing the point.

 

[MadRiver]

CT has a similar law, but allows drivers to use a hand-free headset. From my own personal observations of CT drivers, the law has had absolutely no effect on people using their cell phones while driving.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Speaker phones and headsets should be allowed, as I still have my hands and eyes available to drive. It's no different than talking to your travel partner.

Do you really think so?

I have some reservations about that, and my hunch if a little unbiased research were done it would show that people are mostly oblivious when talking on a cell phone, whether it's handheld or otherwise. I've pulled up beside people who are actively engaged in a cell conversation, tooted my horn, made faces, rude gestures, etc - rarely does the other person notice.

Cell phones are a necessary part of our life, but for the safety of all, I think people should pull off and park when they want to use the cell.

 

[dug]

Can't vouch for everyone, just myself. I have it connected to my stereo, so my cell takes over for my music when a call comes in. I don't see the difference from an internal call. In fact, it may be less so since I am less likely to turn and look at the person I may be talking to, I guess for some it could be different, but I can only speak for meeself.

But, this doesn't really have anything to do about cell phones while we're hiking, so I'll tune out now.

 

[Nessmuk]

Cell phones are a necessary part of our life

???? I do not understand that statement at all. Maybe a business person thinks so, but that is only due to escalation of such devices for "keeping up with the competition". People conducted their businesses and lives just fine without a cell phone on their hip or tied to their ear not so long ago. A cell phone is not anymore a necessary part of our lives than is cable tv or satellite phone.

The pressure is already on for people demanding their expectation of full coverage in the wilderness, requiring construction of cell towers on remote wilderness peaks.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

???? I do not understand that statement at all. Maybe a business person thinks so, but that is only due to escalation of such devices for "keeping up with the competition". People conducted their businesses and lives just fine without a cell phone on their hip or tied to their ear not so long ago. A cell phone is not anymore a necessary part of our lives than is cable tv or satellite phone.

The pressure is already on for people demanding their expectation of full coverage in the wilderness, requiring construction of cell towers on remote wilderness peaks.

My intent was not to include 100% of the population, but according to a statistic I read recently, cell phone use is surprisingly high.

Some people don't have a car, TV, or Gortex, or indoor plumbing either, by choice. God bless 'em ...

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Speaker phones and headsets should be allowed, as I still have my hands and eyes available to drive. It's no different than talking to your travel partner.

Exactly. I've noticed that my own driving tends to deteriorate when I'm talking to someone in the car. At least I've learned to say, "Hang on a minute. Traffic's getting hairy, and I need to concentrate on my driving."

But everyone is different. There are folks who can multitask to beat the band and folks who shouldn't even have the radio on. Just wish people reallized which category they were in and acted accordingly.

 

[Roxi]

???? I do not understand that statement at all. Maybe a business person thinks so, but that is only due to escalation of such devices for "keeping up with the competition". People conducted their businesses and lives just fine without a cell phone on their hip or tied to their ear not so long ago. A cell phone is not anymore a necessary part of our lives than is cable tv or satellite phone.

When my daughter's car blew a tire on a highway, I was very glad that she had a cell phone. She was able to call me and let me know what had happened and that she was ok. She was also able to call AAA and get help. Both of those actions would have been difficult for her to do without a cell phone without leaving her car and/or being at the mercy of whoever stopped. I view cell phones as very useful devices and am glad I own one. As a woman I feel a little safer knowing I can call someone I know for help if I need to instead of relying on a stranger. The problem isn't the cell phone, it's how people use them.

 

[Nessmuk]

When my daughter's car blew a tire on a highway, I was very glad that she had a cell phone. She was able to call me and let me know what had happened and that she was ok. She was also able to call AAA and get help. Both of those actions would have been difficult for her to do without a cell phone without leaving her car and/or being at the mercy of whoever stopped.

I'm sure you are glad and it was a good thing. I can remember (before cell phones) thinking how fortunate and lucky to have broken down near friendly homeowners in the past who gladly lent a hand or let me use their landline to call for help. One time a farmer brought his tractor out in a blizzard to pull me out of a ditch. I guess times and attitudes are different now though.

I view cell phones as very useful devices and am glad I own one. As a woman I feel a little safer knowing I can call someone I know for help if I need to instead of relying on a stranger. The problem isn't the cell phone, it's how people use them.

And their expectations of infrastructure, including political pressure to support their demands, especially in wilderness areas. Some people seem to treat a cell phone as a piece of clothing, and would no sooner be without one as they would be without pants. I think that's sad.

 

[DougPaul]

Speaker phones and headsets should be allowed, as I still have my hands and eyes available to drive. It's no different than talking to your travel partner.

From what I have heard, the accident rates for cellphone users are similar to those of drunk drivers--even with the hands-free attachments. The mental distraction is a bigger problem than physical distraction. Accidents have also happened while the driver is searching for a ringing phone.

IMO, talking with a passenger is less dangerous--he can see when the driver is concentrating on a driving situation and when driver is more relaxed. As a driver or a passenger, I stop talking when the driving situation gets critical. And as a driver, I ignore the passengers when the driving demands my attention.

A background radio/music is easily ignored, foreground (eg loud) music is much harder to ignore. And a background radio/music may help a driver stay alert on a long drive.

Doug

 

[MadRiver]

When my daughter's car blew a tire on a highway, I was very glad that she had a cell phone. She was able to call me and let me know what had happened and that she was ok. She was also able to call AAA and get help.

In this scenario your daughter was not driving when she used the cell phone. I doubt that anyone would begrudge her using a cell phone in that instance.

 

[David Metsky]

<mod hat on>
Folks, we're drifting far away from the question of how much you use cell phones while hiking. Cell phones and driving, or the need of a person to have a cell phone in today's society are interesting subjects, but perhaps not the best topics for this board.

Please keep the focus of the discussion to phones and hiking.

-dave-

<mod hat off>

 

[Clown]

???? I do not understand that statement at all. Maybe a business person thinks so, but that is only due to escalation of such devices for "keeping up with the competition". People conducted their businesses and lives just fine without a cell phone on their hip or tied to their ear not so long ago. A cell phone is not anymore a necessary part of our lives than is cable tv or satellite phone.

The pressure is already on for people demanding their expectation of full coverage in the wilderness, requiring construction of cell towers on remote wilderness peaks.

Well, just the other day there was an major incident in the town I work in. 3 fire departments were there, many local officials, police and state police. Even though everyone has there own private channels you can still hear everyone else talking over the radio, which was alot of people talking at once, and over each other. Without the use of Nextel/Cellphones it would have been much harder for us to communicate to better our efforts.

 

[skiguy]

Very interesting thread. I carry a cell phone but I never use it. Has anyone ever had someone else on the trail who does not have a cell phone ask to use yours? How would you reply? If it were an emergency I think we would all gladly hand the cell over; but what if it were not. Kind of like being in "Tuck's" on a nice Spring day and someone asks if you have a Big Mac they can use.

 

[DougPaul]

Has anyone ever had someone else on the trail who does not have a cell phone ask to use yours? How would you reply? If it were an emergency I think we would all gladly hand the cell over; but what if it were not.

I have been on the asking side. Was at a remote desert viewpoint (Grandview Point, overlooking Canyonlands) with car problems. Didn't have a cellphone--others let me use theirs and refused my offer of payment.

I now have one which I generally treat as emergency gear when hiking or driving (ie normally turned off). If the above situation were reversed, I'd happily let someone else use it in an emergency.

Doug