[pct-l] GPS - PDA

[bmclaughlin at bigplanet.com (Brian McLaughlin)]

> Am planning to solo about 1000 miles of the PCT next year and am 
> wondering what other's experiences with a combination GPS - PDA - 
> cell phone might be.  Would need field-replaceable batteries, SD or 
> MMC cards and hopefully could send email with it.
> 
> Being 65 I'm a little reluctant to take off without the phone, and 
> being impatient may leave early enough to absolutely need a 
> GPS. 

A satellite phone is very spendy and you probably won't find one
that will send email, but it would have a GPS built in and what's
more important, it would get a signal and allow you to make a call
from the trail. A cell phone will be useless anywhere from 85% to 
95% of the way, depending on where you hike.

Very large portions of the PCT are outside of cell phone coverage.
Cell towers tend to cover about a five mile diameter radius, with
a greater reach along direct lines-of-sight. Mountains tend to block
those direct lines of sight quite effectively. Desert terrain, less so.

If you feel you MUST have a phone, you may as well spend your
money on one that isn't a dead weight. Personally, I would rather
not rely on technology to save my behind. Feeling like your *ss
is covered by the phone in your pack can lead to overconfidence
and carelessness. An alert mind is going to be your best safety
device.

Just my $0.02. HYOH. Good luck.