[Cdt-l] Wifi only device on trail?

[Dan Bedore]

I have been using an iPod touch, which is wifi only, not a phone, for two years of almost continuous hiking, at times on trails much more remote than the CDT. I find free wifi in the tiniest of towns. I've never paid for a connection, and I can't think of any town I could not find free wifi service. Motels, cafes, even tiny, remote stores have wifi. I'm now on the Colorado CDT and easily found wifi in Silverton, Salida, Leadville, Copper Mountain, and Silverthorne, where I'm writing right now. 

I have an app that lets me edit and upload my website, but if you use something like trailjournals, you don't need that. In every town I download the 10 day weather forecast, usually for a town a few days out. I check my emails, and upload my site. The iPod is super handy, weighs a few ounces, and since it's not a phone, has no monthly fee. I've loaded a great bird guide (ibird) and a few other natural history apps. I can type my journal every night, and upload it in towns. 

I won't rave on any more, but I'm totally satisfied with my iPod. 

Dan Bedore
www.bedore.org

On Aug 25, 2012, at 4:28 PM, David Thibault <dthibaul07 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I still haven't decided how I am going to update my journal on the trail. 
> The idea of carrying a cell phone just doesn't appeal to me - because I don't want to be always connected and I also don't want to pay for a phone contract. 
>  
> I used a peek email only device on the PCT and that worked fine, but alas they have gone under.  Anyway I was thinking about looking into a wifi only device like a nexus or surface tablet but before I spend a lot of time looking these over I was wondering if a wifi only device would ever be able to connect up to anything in the small towns along the way on the CDT. 
>  
> I'm not really looking for something that I can connect daily,  just something I could write my journal and send out an email to my journal about once a week. 
> So my question is:  would a wifi only device work on the CDT or would I only get service so infrequently that it would be mostly dead weight?
>  
> My other alternative is to hand write my journal entries and mail them to someone who will then type them into a computer for me.
> Not a great alternative as by the end of the day my terrible handwriting can actually get worse than its usual low standard.
>  
> Day-Late
> _______________________________________________
> Cdt-l mailing list
> Cdt-l at backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l