Re: Kings Canyon park explores first cell tower

Suddenly, according to the Mercury News, this debate has "erupted."

Huh? We already yakked about it right here on this forum a while back (here)

Merc article: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_12696722

While I don't like the idea of people on cell phones in the Grant Grove, such a cell phone wouldn't work much beyond that (maybe Hume Lake, which wouldn't be a bad thing) and gawkers in Grant Grove are really noisy anyway. There still would not be any cell coverage in Kings Canyon.

I will give a for example though, a couple months ago while leaving KC, about 3 or 4 miles from the visitor center at the top, a car had gone off the side of the road northbound and T-boned a tree. No one was in the car but the tree (not a sequoia) was sitting pretty close to the firewall of the car. I couldn't call it in, but about a quarter mile later a CHP was on his way down, probably looking for it. In this case, during the emergency (no telling how long since the accident) a cell phone availability would've been a good idea.

I remember there was some controversy over the proposal to build a cell tower in Gardiner, Montana. It's already developed with a high school, local businesses, etc. The tower would have been outside the boundaries of Yellowstone NP, but there were complaints that it would clash visually with the Roosevelt Arch which spans the northern entrance.

I remember there was a piece on this KC proposal in National Parks' Traveler. I would have liked to have had cell coverage when I had to meet someone there back in 2007.

I think emergency service in remote areas is one of the BEST possible uses for cell phone technology!

Sat. Phone

Who can afford that?

Depends what you mean by remote.

Better yet, what constitutes an emergency?

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Old Dude

What snobs... I can't believe this forum.

Mr. Weaver,
For some people running low on ice in their cooler constitutes an emergency. For others a compound fracture of the femur will be the trigger. Where does the NPS draw the line?

Please stay on topic.

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Old Dude

Quote
mrcondron
For some people running low on ice in their cooler constitutes an emergency.

Or worse:

There are cell phone "emergency" stories on some of the mountaineering sites -- stories about folks thinking that maybe they can't finish a (rock) climb before the cold/frost/snow arrives, calling SAR, and then finishing the climb just as the helicoptor arrives. With thousands of dollars of rescue costs just a fingertip away (and no $$ in the budget), it really does beg the question as to what, indeed, constitutes an emergency.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2009 11:39PM by Bee.

I'd content that if you are really remote... good luck getting a cell signal.
And good luck getting a cell signal in the backcountry of SEKI.
That's my point.

Funny thing is... they used to have phones all over the backcountry of Yosemite.
Benson Lake, Pate Valley... all over...

My other thing is... I hate the idea of that kinda stuff in the backcountry... then you
end up with situations that cause undue alarm. I actually found one of those SPOT
devices sitting on a rock at Evolution Lake.... lotta good that did.

I'd consider carrying a Sat. Phone if I solo'd the Sierra High Route.

I meant to spell contend.

Also found a cell phone coming up out of Pate on the way to Rodgers Canyon.
Whoever lost it probably wanted to call for help...

I have no idea how pointing out Satellite Phones and how the park is huge
and Cell Coverage in SEKI is a daunting task is snobbery.
Geez, even with a Sat. phone you're not guaranteed in some of the canyons.
I would think Sat. phones will be the wave of the future like
Sat. radio.

Who wants to carry the extra weight in the back country anyway? It's enough to carry a baggie full of AA's and AAA's to keep your lamps and radio running.

Along places that have pavement, I think cell coverage would be OK. Dirt? Nah, you should be smart enough to get out alive before you go in.

http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/printheadline.cfm?type=Incidents&id=4589
DENALI NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE
Lost Hiker Tracked Via Cell Phone Messages And Rescued

The park received a report of a lost hiker in the Mount Healy area of the park in the early hours of Saturday, June 20th. Donald Carroll, 19, of Bowling Brook, Illinois, a local seasonal employee of Princess Resorts, had begun his solo climb to the summit of the mountain at 1 p.m. on Saturday from the Mt. Healy overlook trailhead near the park’s visitor center. After summiting around 4 p.m., he attempted to descend on the opposite north slope but lost the route and dialed 911 after becoming disoriented and mildly hypothermic and falling in steep terrain several times. Rangers were able to contact Carroll on his cell phone – although phone reception was not sufficient for voice communications at his location, they were able to communicate with him by text message during the search. After narrowing the search area based on clues provided by Carroll, rangers mobilized search teams and were able to direct park aircraft to the general area of the upper Dry Creek drainage. He was soon spotted at a location on upper Dry Creek just outside of the park’s boundary by personnel in the park's fixed wing aircraft and retrieved shortly afterwards by the park contract high-altitude rescue helicopter . Carroll required no medical attention and was returned to his seasonal housing in Healy after some much-appreciated water and food, as he had begun his hike with no food, water, or raingear.
Contact Information
Name: Richard Moore, North District Ranger

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

This is very near the stampede trail. The location where Chris McCandless made his
illfated trek into the Alaskan Wild. If you look on Google Earth there are some nice
shots of Healy and interestingly a shot of the bus.

I won't say anything else other than:
Alexander Supertramp - R.I.P.