Re: [pct-l] Cell Phones et al...

[Tom Rogers <tfrogers@san.rr.com>]

Slyinmd@aol.com wrote:
> It's pretty hard to tune someone out when they are within 10 feet of you,
> yakking to a girlfriend (not a sex issue, men do it too).

OK, if you can't tune them out then explore the other choices: Control
their behavior or be annoyed.  Have you considered wearing a "Summit
Police" badge and lecturing the offenders sternly, perhaps issueing
citations.  Carry a covert 900Mhz signal jammer (lightweight of
course).  And if all else fails, I recall reading somewhere recently
that it takes 43 muscles to scowl, but only 4 to extend your arm and
slap the cretins side the head, possibly disabling the cell phone in the
process. 

> shared to
> each other or within themselves the experience and accomplishment of climbing
> this amazing mountain without prancing around.

But it's the american way; have you watched any pro football recently. 
For the people you're talking about, the summit is the end zone.  Just
listen to that crowd...

Seriously, the bottom line for me, and I think many others who spend a
substantial portion of their lives alone in the wilderness, is that I am
indeed different from the casual hikers whose behavior is (by our
standards) inappropriate.  But there must be room on the mountain for
them too.  Like children in a museum, I am loathe to dampen their
enthusiasm.  Remember, most of them will be turning east at Trail Pass,
back to Plan A, but you and I are heading west into the High Sierra, to
do whatever we want...

Happy trails, Tom
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