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Having recently visited the Yellowstone National Park, the situation you describe for the North Sea side of Germany applies but worse, the cell phone data conne
by throwitawayday 7y ago
Having recently visited the Yellowstone National Park, the situation you describe for the North Sea side of Germany applies but worse, the cell phone data connection being non-existent, and with the added issue that only one hotel offered wifi, and it was out of service for the entire duration of our visit.
- bobthepanda 7y agoIt's a national park - this is an intentional policy. There is some cell service, but the park specifically does not want cell towers everywhere. > In 2009, Yellowstone completed a plan for wireless communications in the park. The plan dictates that cell phone and wifi will only be allowed for visitor safety and to enhance park operations. It restricts towers, antennas, and wireless services to a few limited locations in the park, in order to protect park resources and limit the impact on park visitors. https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/cell-phone-wifi-yellowstone https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/cell-phone-wifi-yellows...
- ghaff 7y agoI think that's fairly common in a lot of the bigger and more remote national parks. Death Valley has decent cell reception at Furnace Creek (the main visitor center and lodging area) but AFAIK there's none in the rest of the 3,000 square miles.
- blackflame7000 7y agoDeath Valley is also in a valley surrounded by tall mountains loaded with cell tower equipment so the signal propagates pretty easily because there are minimal line-of-sight obstructions.
- ghaff 7y agoI can't say I've ever noticed cell phone reception outside of the immediate Furnace Creek area but it's possible you can pick something up from whatever is up on the mountains in some locations.
- robohoe 7y agoLast time I was in Death Valley in December I could barely get any signal outside of Furnace Creek. Even in FC it was terrible. I had two cellphones on T-Mobile and AT&T for that matter.
- duxup 7y agoI honestly would expect that at a national park. To me that would be what a national park ... just is.
- krzyk 7y agoBut this is the place where you might get lost and without cell service, you are really lost. This is quite annoying in the US, that national parks or deserts have no cell service. The places that need it most (life and death situations) - this is basically a health service there. In comparison to Europe the mobile density is quite sparse there.
- sgt101 7y agoI'm not sure if you are serious, but if you are can I suggest that you don't go into the park unless you know what you are doing?
- amarshall 7y agoThere’s a reason it’s called wilderness. One should have basic orienteering skills if they venture away from the popular, touristy locations. If things really do go awry, bring (and use) an EPIRB. I would never rely on a cellular phone for safety in the wilderness. Cellular service and geolocation was never be 100% reliable, and batteries die. A paper map, a compass, basic skills, and knowledge of one’s limits go a long way.
- ghaff 7y agoI'm not sure how big I am on even encouraging everyone who gets off the beaten track to carry an EPIRB. However, if I'm being honest, if I did any amount of solo backpacking--especially in less traveled areas--I'd probably consider it these days.
- amarshall 7y agoIndeed, though the problem is often people activating them for situations not truly life-threatening. In some cases, misuse has resulted in hefty fines. Most people don’t need them because most people don’t actually do “backcountry”, let alone solo it. It should be understood that an EPIRB should only be used in the most dire of circumstances.