Make room for a cell phone -- the eleventh essential?

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You "forgot" to quote the first line:
"Survival in the woods these days is all about high-tech."

Guess I can throw all those skills that I have been learning for all these years...

Doug
 
Soon, On-Star will be available for hikers!!! Or just drive your On-star equipped GM vehicle into the woods...

Jay
 
I wouldn't call a cell phone essential, but without a signal and a phone on PatN when Ray died things would have been much different. Because we had a phone and a signal, we were able to coordinate with SAR, which meant that they got to us much faster than if one, or both of us had to go down the mountain, contact SAR and then bring them back up. It meant that we didn't have to leave Ray in the woods alone overnight.
Not essential maybe, but very helpful.
 
My carrier is Verizon and my hiking partner ADKDREMN has a Singular or AT&T and we can both have a signal but usually only one of the phone works. We only get reception on top of summits anyways so if I break my leg coming down the phone won't even help. :rolleyes:
 
I don't know if it's just my service, but the ONLY place I have ever gotten cell reception in the Whites so far was on the Caps Ridge Trail, that little ledge with the watermarks just before you tackle the Caps themselves.

I do carry a PLB, though, which (hopefully) has a much better chance of contacting SARs should the need arise.
 
Backpacker magazine just had an online article that mentions the cell phone as an essential thing to have... One good thing, without service, you can MacGuyver the battery into a firestarter... LOL :D
 
1ADAM12 said:
My carrier is Verizon and my hiking partner ADKDREMN has a Singular or AT&T and we can both have a signal but usually only one of the phone works. We only get reception on top of summits anyways so if I break my leg coming down the phone won't even help. :rolleyes:
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I usually have a lot of bars, but calls rarely go thru! :confused:
 
TrishandAlex said:
I don't know if it's just my service, but the ONLY place I have ever gotten cell reception in the Whites so far was on the Caps Ridge Trail, that little ledge with the watermarks just before you tackle the Caps themselves.

I do carry a PLB, though, which (hopefully) has a much better chance of contacting SARs should the need arise.
Click to expand...

Trish - there have been a variety of threads on cell phone reception over the years, and while the carriers tend to buy and sell each other and so coverage changes - I still think it's safe to say you can expect better than one ledge on Jefferson. I've had a variety of phones over the years, both for work and personal use, and have found they tend to work from nearly any higher ridge and all summits. There are some tricks you sometimes have to take on the summits in order to make a call such as getting down off the peak a bit because they are too many competing signals. By dropping down even a few feet some towers will be eliminated. Reception in the Kanc is one exception, and eventually that may be there, if it isn't already.

Also - for many years I carried a TracFone for emergencies, and found that to work just about anywhere in the country. It's one of those prepaid plans where airtime and minutes are purchased in blocks. I believe there's even a cheaper alternative now with a phone sold at K-Mart for as little as $10. This type of phone can be a great advantage, especially when away from home, because they have already negotiated with the carriers, so it doesn't matter if your primary plan is with Sprint, AT&T, Cingular, Verizon, etc - the phone will usually work.

On a per minute basis, these "throw-away" phones are a little pricey, but where issues like coverage are a priority, they can be just the ticket.
 
cell phone

We generally get sporadic reception on our cell phone (Verizon) in the Catskills. We bring it because our daughters (20&25) worry. My oldest daughter pointed out to me that even if the phone doesn't work, a text message will go through. I wouldn't call it essential and it's not something I would count on working, but in an emergency if it did work it would be wonderful. :)
 
"From the air between dusk and dawn, he and his crew can use night-vision goggles to detect body heat, or even more effectively, from the light of your flashlight. The goggles can amplify the light from even an inexpensive flashlight by about 10 times, he said.

"'We can see them for miles and miles,' Spencer said. "

The advice about the flashlight is worth noting. The FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared ) camera that's used in nighttime police chases and SAR missions is often worthless in heavy vegetation. I once did a demo with a FLIR-equipped helicopter involving my nephew. He was wearing a heavy coat and hid in tall grass. He had to move into the open before he was distinguishable by the FLIR.

But the night-vision goggles respond to a flashlight a lot better. Just realize that a pilot without them may still have difficulty picking out a flashlight. I've stood on a riverbank under a helo, waving a very bright headlamp, and was still invisible to the pilot and observer.
 
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Kevin Rooney said:
I've had a variety of phones over the years, both for work and personal use, and have found they tend to work from nearly any higher ridge and all summits. There are some tricks you sometimes have to take on the summits in order to make a call such as getting down off the peak a bit because they are too many competing signals.
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I've tried making calls from many peaks, I've never been able to do it.

However, I take back what I said, because I did get reception on the trail coming down from Garfield. Forgot about that.

I've never tried the tricks you mentioned -- will definitely give it a go.

Given that we carry a PLB, and that Alex and I both carry communication radios, I've never been too worried about not having cell reception. The PLB and/or the radios should do the trick if the need ever arose. I carry my cell phone anyway, but I never feel like I can count on it.
 
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Jason Berard said:
I wouldn't call a cell phone essential, but without a signal and a phone on PatN when Ray died things would have been much different. Because we had a phone and a signal, we were able to coordinate with SAR, which meant that they got to us much faster than if one, or both of us had to go down the mountain, contact SAR and then bring them back up. It meant that we didn't have to leave Ray in the woods alone overnight.
Not essential maybe, but very helpful.
Click to expand...
When they work.

I was able to get a signal at my accident site. Given that someone came along shortly after the accident and he could have skied out for help, the cell phone probably reduced the response time by more than an hour. Had he not come along, the phone could have been life saving.

Very helpful when they work, but hardly a cure-all. And, of course, they do have the cost of weight and (pack) space.

Doug
 
marty said:
The +/- 4.5 ounce additional weight hardly justifies NOT carrying one. Based on the purpose the cell phone served for Jason and me, I will always carry one on future hikes.
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A judgment call--I was just pointing out the costs. If you add up enough 5 oz "essentials", your pack may become unacceptably heavy (which increases the risks in other ways).

I generally choose to carry mine, but it is normally turned off and rarely leaves my pack. (If you leave it turned on, the phone company may be able to track you and give your location or approach route to the SAR folks.)

Doug
 
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