[pct-l] Cell phone etiquette on the trail

[Wayne Smith]

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.

Gretzky, PCT ‘97