Do you talk on a cell phone while hiking?

I carry my cell phone in the OFF position for emergencies or plan changes. Discreet phone conversations don't bother me. Vociferous talkers, boisterous kids (or adults) and unsocial animals are just as noisy. Loud is still loud whether it's hi-tech loud or lo-tech loud. That's why I seldom take breaks on summits and I'm always prepared to move along to recapture the serenity.

JohnL

If I'm solo then I usually take the phone turned off (to save batteries and to not be disturbed). When I'm out in the woods there is really no emergency that will get me off the mountain fast enough anyway. God forbid something fatal would happen to a loved one, but even if it did and I didn't know about it for two days because I was in the woods I wouldn't kick myself for being in the woods not constantly checking my phone.
Now... if I knew that something could happen (someone terminally ill, child on the way) then I would probably have no problem checking every once in a while.

The only place I've encountered people on cell phones at the summit of a peak was on Whiteface. They were mostly people who had driven up the toll road (as my wife and I did that day) and there weren't any really annoying people. The only annoying dude I encountered was some (description deleted) "summit steward type" guy who yelled at me for standing on some point of rock that "wobbles." It would have really miffed me if I had actually hiked up that day. (I figure if I burn the calories to hike myself up there, I'm not going to let some dude ruin the best photo of the day by telling me I "can't" stand on a rock... but that's another discussion altogether.)

Otherwise, I carry one that's always turned off when hiking alone and only for my wife's peace of mind. I've used my brother's phone on one summit to call my wife and do the "Guess where I'm calling from?" thing that does get old quickly.

I've never even encountered anyone on the trail that was talking on one. It's just not an issue.

i don't own one but have used one before while out in the woods. what's the big deal???

My role of my phone on a hike is as a piece of emergency equipment. It is not on and I do not count on it working. However, if there is ever an emergency and I am able to get a signal, I would be able to get help on the way much faster. Call it a little bit of life insurance I hope to never have to use. I'll gladly pay the price of a few extra ounces for the potential benefit.

its also good to have for calling those 1-900 numbers - hey it gets lonely out there

...I'll call SWMBO...

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...My wife likes to be called when I reach a summit...

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...when hiking alone and only for my wife's peace of mind....

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Trying to make me feel guilty???

I'll go alone for a week at a time without a phone..... Sure glad my wife doesn't read this site.

There are plenty of obnoxious folks out there without cell phones.
I don't see the difference between speaking to a hiking buddy who's next to me or speaking on a cell. I think either way one should be respectful to their surroundings.
My cell will always be on when I'm away from my family. I don't consider my boys and husband to be nuisances. If it is anyone else I will ignore and call back later.

I usually carry my cell phone with me, just in case of emergency. I keep it off. I also usually have a pager with me which is left on. I now try to remember to change the message on it to "out of hospital, page emergency only"! It's not a problem hiking on the weekends, but when I try to squeeze in a hike during the week I kept getting routine pages and comments like "Oh, you're not in the building"? On technical climbs, the pager gets left in the car. It is very distracting to be leading a pitch when my backpack starts to beep at me.

I don't own a cell phone, so no I've never used one while hiking.

The only cell phone on the trail that ticks me off is my own.

Mrs. McRat insists I carry it, though I have come to cherish those precious areas beyond the limits of the wireless leash.

My cell is my only phone, because I am never home. I carry it when I hike, on every hike. I usually keep it off, unless I have some type of situation I'm waiting to hear about. My ringer is almost always off. By the wayside, it is also my only camera. So I use it for that too. I enjoy hearing a little Mr Roboto when it rings anyway. I kind of catch a little groove on the trail. Someone should invent a phone that does more, like a built in avalanche beacon/gps/camera/phone. That would be a one purchase deal for folks that get out there. I usually never use it, except to email real-time pictures of me having a blast to my friends that are stuck at work shatting themselves wishing they had time to get out.

I'm so glad to see the poll results. I HATE hearing people talking on a cell phone in the wilderness (unless it is an emergency, etc). The solitude, quiet, remoteness are part of the appeal. Chatting on the cell phone quickly ruins that IMHO

If I'm solo, I may check in from a peak, but rarely. More likely on a multi-day trip. I always have one, but it's kept off. I do have to check in periodically as my job means that I rarely have the freedom to be away from civilization.

I carry a cellphone, but I leave it powered off. I rarely use it on the trail - I keep it for a severe emergency, or on the very rare occasion to call my spouse once to let her know we're running really, really late. Motivation: to avoid an unnecessary rescue call. On a multi-day trip I'll allow that I call out once a day briefly to check-in. I take pains to call away from anyone else around, and often far away from the trail. I never take incoming calls while hiking.

I'll allow there are places my cellphone doesn't work, and frankly I love those places, places beyond the digital tether.

-- LTH

LivesToHike said:

I carry a cellphone, but I leave it powered off. I rarely use it on the trail - I keep it for a severe emergency, or on the very rare occasion to call my spouse once to let her know we're running really, really late. Motivation: to avoid an unnecessary rescue call. On a multi-day trip I'll allow that I call out once a day briefly to check-in. I take pains to call away from anyone else around, and often far away from the trail. I never take incoming calls while hiking.

I'll allow there are places my cellphone doesn't work, and frankly I love those places, places beyond the digital tether.

-- LTH

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Well said. Fully agree!!

Don't own one, but I don't have any problem with someone else using one on the trail. But as for the guy in car ahead of me on the highway...

jjo said:

I'm so glad to see the poll results. I HATE hearing people talking on a cell phone in the wilderness (unless it is an emergency, etc). The solitude, quiet, remoteness are part of the appeal. Chatting on the cell phone quickly ruins that IMHO

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Can I ask a silly question? What's the difference between hearing someone talk on a cell phone or hearing them talk to someone they're standing/sitting next to? You're still listening to someone have a conversation either way. What's the difference?

As for me, I carry a cell phone with me for emergencies, recognizing that it may not work in all areas due to signal strength or lack thereof, and keep it off because it's the sound of it ringing that I don't want to hear while hiking. Ringing telephones sound too much like civilization and I don't want to answer it when I'm having fun. That's why it takes messages.

I agree with Bob Kittredge - the issues I have with cell phone use are not with hikers, but rather with the person behind the wheel. Today I witnessed the same guy talking on his cell phone 1) run a red light almost hitting someone, 2) then sit at a green light because his conversation was apparently more engrossing than driving, and 3) turn without signaling because that might have required that he remove the phone from his ear.

Cell phones are not the problem....how and when people use them are.

Roxi said:

Can I ask a silly question? What's the difference between hearing someone talk on a cell phone or hearing them talk to someone they're standing/sitting next to? You're still listening to someone have a conversation either way. What's the difference?

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If they are on a cell phone, you only have to listen to one-half of the conversation. If they are in person you get both sides, double the yakking.

Roxi said:

Cell phones are not the problem....how and when people use them are.

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The problem (in my opinion) is rude and obnoxious people who act without consideration for others. They were just as rude before cell phones, and will be equally rude when personal hologram transmissions are invented.

Roxi said:

Can I ask a silly question? What's the difference between hearing someone talk on a cell phone or hearing them talk to someone they're standing/sitting next to? You're still listening to someone have a conversation either way. What's the difference?

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I've never actually encountered anyone on the phone in the woods. I will say my major complaint (anywhere!) is that people on cell phones tend to talk about 10 times louder than they would in normal conversation. So you get half of a conversation that you can't block out.

I once saw a woman trying to parrallel park a stick shift Jeep with a cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in the other. That was entertaining.