[pct-l] Cell phone etiquette on the trail

[David Thibault]

The best way I've heard this described is when you pull out your phone to
make a call
look around and ask yourself --  Would I take a dump here?
If not consider finding a more private location.


Day-Late



> I?m sure this subject has come up before but I believe that with new hikers
> coming along every year, it deserves repeating since it seems that many of
> the people new to hiking have never even considered the issue and are not
> aware that their actions may be bothering others.
> The issue is using cell phones while out in the wilderness.  I am not at
> all against people carrying cell phones with them when they go out on a
> long hike in the wilderness, it just annoys me greatly when people use them
> out in the wilderness when other people are around.
> Many people go out into the wilderness to get away from ?civilization? and
> feel like they have disconnected themselves.   For them, coming across
> someone gabbing away on their cell phone after putting in so much time and
> effort to get to some place that feels remote can completely destroy that
> feeling of remoteness.  No longer will they feel that they are in a place
> where they are detached from the rest of society, because that cell phone
> is an unavoidable reminder that the rest of society is just an easy phone
> call away.  In a way it is a connection to the world you were trying to
> disconnect yourself from, even if you yourself are not the one using the
> phone.
> I know not everyone feels this way, but many people do and find it very
> irritating to be around someone talking on their cell phone when all they
> want to do is enjoy the wilderness and feel like they have truly gotten
> away from it all.
> So my request is this, go ahead and bring your cell phone with you, it is a
> smart thing to do in case of emergencies, but please avoid using it
> whenever other people are around because in doing so you may be ruining
> someone else?s wilderness experience.
>