"Can you hear me now?"

[ck1]

Do you bring your cell phone along on hikes?

If so...why?
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-Colin

"The Journey is the Destination"

[Daryl]

Yes, could be used to call for help if help was needed (you'd be surprised how many searches start that way, or how often people call to get directions back to the trailhead).

No one has my cell number so I don't worry about getting a call, but if I did get calls on it I'd shut the ringer off while hiking anyway.
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[evenstar]

I carry mine if I'm hiking in an area where I can get a signal.
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John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902

[plummer150]

I bring mine with me, just keep it off in case of emergency or whatever. Prime example would be last January while I was in Arizona hiking at Saguaro NP and we lost our car keys, wallets, everything essential; except the phone of course. We realized it at the peak of the mountain where we camped that night so I was able to call AAA to bail us out the next morning. What an ordeal that was having no ID on us and trying to convince AAA that was our car....
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"IRONMAN" cometh, hiketh, destroyeth

[Hikngrl]

I bring mine... I try to remember to shut it off so as not to waste the battery with the constant searching for service but I want to have it in case I need it and the remote chance that I get a signal and I need it coinsides... ya never know... That's why my pack weighs so much.... I "might need" a lot of things!
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~~~Diane~~~

I want to shine!

[plummer150]

[Trishness]

I always carry my cell phone but rarely have a signal.
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~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

[mike]

I nearly always carry it, unless I know for sure I won't have a signal. It didn't go on the WFW, but would've gone on the Ridgeline and did on the Dutchman. I know I can get a signal on the Ridgeline, called Mrs Mike from up there. I keep it turned off to conserve the battery.
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[mike t]

No I don't take one. I did have mine on the Table Top trip I recently made which was a rarity. I left it in the truck at the trailhead and only took it because I was pretty sure my return time estimate I left with my wife was going to be off some.
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Mike T
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less is more

[Shawn]

What's a cell phone?
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The bear went over the mountain to see what he could see.

[ghoster]

I always carry mine, but like most I almost never have a signal. I am looking into a Sattelite phone, expensive but you only need it that one time to make it worth while. THere are services that will cover you especially if you just want one for an emergency, not using daily. Still pricey item for a hobby. I guess it just matters how much it is worth to you. Hiking alone, it makes sense to me, of course, finding someone with the time, schedule and the interest to hike with would make it much easier. STill even with other people emergencies do happen and a reliable phone with a good signal would make me a little more confident in hiking some of the more distant places.

[paintninaz]

Let's see, most of the time I bring it, (to have "in case I need it and can by chance get a signal")...then forget it in the truck

I did bring it on the Dutchman overnighter, turned it off to conserve the battery and the dang thing was STILL dead when I got to the trailhead!
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~Tracy

“Friends make the bad times good — and the good times unforgettable.”

[chihiggs]

Never. Yes I own one and am not against them but it's not what I want for myself out there; even in an emergency

Sometimes misery makes for an excellent story....
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All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them...Walt Disney

[Daddee]

Well, since I'm the only person on the planet who does not have a cell phone - I don't bring one.

I also don't bring a watch.
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"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

[maryphyl]

I leave one in the car--they don't work in the canyon but might be good to have a way to get help from the rim.
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Shikekeh hozhoogo naasha.
I walk in beauty.