Phones on the Trail - Do You Bring Yours?

[TollerMom]

I have a dumb phone too. I use it so rarely that I am not even sure what my number is.

[bobrick]

I carry mine to touch base once a day when backpacking. I think it is good to provide an update on my plans. I always leave my plans with my friend with the understanding I will check in, IF I have a SIGNAL. I carry it on day hikes and will give an "Out of the woods" call when I am done.

[HikahHikah1-9]

You shouldn't need a phone if you have a good whistle and/or a radio. You can also get a SPOT tracker, which can send messages or an SOS beacon.

[tmountainnut]

Ever since getting my Samsung S5, I have started bringing it with me on most trips. Its camera is good enough for a backup, and on a recent trip, i found myself using one of the apps for star gazing and finding where the planets and constellations are. I also have a few free books from the google play library loaded onto it (classics like HG Wells, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, etc), so in a pinch i could use it to entertain myself if i have to spend a day tent-bound by weather. I'm sure there are other uses for it, but rarely am i somewhere during my trips with good cell reception. Although i have had a signal from a suprising number of colorado 14ers, even the really remote ones like the chicago basin peaks. The only peak that it hasn't worked on was Snowmass Mountain.

[trekkerman]

A couple of years ago I gave a lift to a nice young man to a trailhead in the Wind Rivers he was going backpacking. He told me he had with him:

(1) A cell phone.

(2) A satellite phone.

(3) A GPS

(4) A spot locator.

I bit my tongue.

Give me a break, I thought the idea of going into the Wilderness was to leave the world behind. Next thing you know they'll be campaigning to put cell towers in the Wilderness.

Trekkerman in Wyoming

[kwhowell]

I always carry my phone for a couple of reasons. I don't like to leave it in the car in case of theft or extreme temperatures. Additionally, my phone functions as my camera. Luckily I haven't had to, but the main reason I carry it is in case of emergency. I don't have any beacons or anything so this is my best link to get out the wilderness if there is an emergency situation. Lastly, I always keep it on airplane mode to save the battery.

[trekkerman]

Of course, I am "Old School" I can't figure our why backpackers insist on carrying their wallet and car keys. (Leave them under a car spring.)

Trekkerman

[tmountainnut]

Of course, I am "Old School" I can't figure our why backpackers insist on carrying their wallet and car keys. (Leave them under a car spring.)

Trekkerman

I just take the one key i need and put it on the key fob on the top of my pack. Everything else stays in the car, although i will bring cash if I'm hiking to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon since they have beer for sale :-)

I agree with you about the Wind Rivers. The only time i've ever heard of a cell phone working up there was when someone was climbing around in the cirque of the towers and needed a rescue or something.

However, i do always carry a ACR resqlink with me as my lifeline if i somehow become immobilized since i'd rather not have to pull an Aaron Ralston and cut an appendage off. I do also use a Ambit GPS watch, which has proven useful in really terrible weather, but most smarter people would have just stay put and weathered out the storm.

-Ted

[RedSoxFan]

i bring mine just in case, but I like to leave it off. I also take a small etrex legend which I also do not use. I want to be in the woods to get away from technology, so much that i wish we still had film cameras. I do use my digital camera, begrudgingly. I even have an analog watch!

I leave my wallet at home, and only take the car key I need, Drivers license, health insurance and debit/credit card needed to and from my destinations.

[hikerboy]

phone is good to have when i come off the trail, to call for a shuttle, make a reservation, or just let loved ones know im okay.its usually kept switched off while im on the trail.