Sometimes I wonder if we should be adding cell phone towers that cover wilderness areas. Where I live in Santa Fe, we recently had a rescue helicopter go down after picking up a lost hiker. The rescued hiker and the pilot of the helicopter died. A third person, an officer and spotter survived with major injuries. Hearing the repeated 911 calls and the hiker on her cell phone, my impression was that she seemed calm and collected and was not in dire need of air rescue. But I leave that to the professionals. That was just my impression. She got separated from her boyfriend while hiking. It was high elevation but it was June. No snowstorms, no freezing temperatures that were immediately life threatening. She had not been starving and wandering for hours…yet. She just wasn’t experienced or equipped to be out there alone. So perhaps two people would be alive if a cell phone wasn’t relied upon as a convenience tool while on a trail.
I don’t want this to be about a particular case and it’s details but it is what got me thinking. Does having a cell phone make people think they are always safe and therefore make people think that they do not need to prepare as much when they go into the wilderness? People use them for GPS devices, for lights in the dark, and to call when they are lost.
Do I carry a cell phone? Usually, but I don’t expect it to work when I am out in nature. Coverage is getting better but it still doesn’t work in most of the places I find myself. I probably wouldn’t be calling 911 until I knew I was in real trouble. Most of these situations occur when a mountain or wilderness area hangs over a populated city like Santa Fe or Phoenix, Arizona. I mention Phoenix because I used to be in Arizona and remember all the people that would go up into the nearby mountains late in the day or without much water and have to be rescued.
It is not Disney World out there. Try standing at the top of the Grand Canyon right by the Bright Angel Trailhead and watch how many people start walking on it without any gear. It is quite amazing. They walk right by the signs telling about young top notch athletes that die there because they under estimate nature. I once watched an older couple looking for the wheel chair acess ramp for the trail.
If you go on a hike, you should be carrying water and snacks for at least a couple days. I Even when I’m walking near my own neighborhood, I keep a habit going and carry a small backpack. It always has water, a breakfast bar, trail mix, compass, a glowstick, waterproof matches and first aid in it, ready to go at all times. I have it at home, in my car and my RV at all times. Even if you are just going on a trail or a day hike, you should plan on being out longer with some minimal supplies. People should have maps or know an area when they go out on the trails. With a GPS device, she could mark the trailhead and always have something to head back towards when lost. So GPS devices are better than cell phones but one should not rely on them completely either. Batteries and electronic devices fail. There is no shortage of books, map and outdoor gear in stores all over the world. Be prepared.
The cost and danger of people wandering around with cell phones, doing things they wouldn’t have done before they had the phone, is getting out of control. What do you think?
I live in New Hampshire, right in the heart of the White Mountains. I am also a nature and wildlife photographer and very experienced hiker/backpacker.
I wholeheartedly agree with the points you have made in this post. Before cell phones, most people who went out into the forest up here did so with the knowledge that they had to prepare themselves, bring the proper equipment, and know just what the heck they were doing out there. They do not call the White Mountains, especially Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range the most dangerous and deadly mountain range for nothing.
Now though, with the advent of cell phones, well to put it bluntly….the idiots who do NOT belong out there are now hiking, thinking that just because they have a cell phone, it will get them out of any danger or situation they find themselves in. At least two to three times a week now you read in the local papers about someone using their cell phones for calling in the rescue chopper and the SAR teams to help them out of a jam they would never have gotten themselves into in the first place if they did not have that cell phone.
I even know of one woman last year who called the Forest Service on her cell because she was tired and her feet hurt and she wanted them to come up and evac her off the mountain. Glad the person answering the call told her to forget it, they would only come up for an emergency and to come down on her own. One other woman sort of did the same thing. Again, she got the same response.
Now the SAR and Forest Service has the right idea. They have to come up to rescue you because of your stupidity, then expect to pay for the service, and let me tell you, it is not cheap.
Yes, there are people who do get hurt on these trails through no fault of their own. There are many ways that you can get hurt. BUT, if you are going out there, unprepared for the worst, then I believe you deserve whatever you get. If it was me, and you were in this position, then I would honestly tell you…tough luck, see you when you make it to the bottom.
Even if I go out for a day hike, I bring cold weather gear, rain gear, flashlight, compass, map, two days of food and camp stove, and even my bivey tent. If I go out for more than one day, then my full pack comes with me. Have I gotten hurt on the trail? Yes. I had one heck of a fall on the Wildcat Ridge Trail in NH that required my being helped off of the mountain. It was through no fault of my own and even the rangers who came up said that it is people like me they would rather help than the lame idiots who go out there and do incredibly stupid things.
Between you and I, and I know this may sound evil, but let them have a near death experience, maybe they will learn truly what the boy scout motto and all the warnings posted that say: Be Prepared, People Die Up Here Not Being Prepared. Plus it helps the gene pool getting rid of the idiots.
Sometimes thinking tough sounds evil but it comes down to common sense. When I lived nearby, I spent some time hanging out around the top of the Grand Canyon. I would stand and watch all the people start walking down the Bright Angel trail (the most popular trail that goes to the bottom of the canyon). They’d walk right on by the posted sign that told the story of a great athlete that died the previous year on the trail because she didn’t carry much to drink with her. And it wasn’t even that hot.
Anyway, I’d just shake my head and find it hard to find sympathy for the masses heading down the trail in flip flops and without water.