Trail Cell Phones Are Good Call

Cell phones seem to be in use everywhere these days, in shopping center parking lots, along bike paths and in storefront doorways. Having portable communication is a modern convenience to be sure, but being so easily reachable has its drawbacks for those who don’t want to be available every minute.

Indeed, having access to a cellular phone can be the last thing on someone’s mind when they are trying to get away from it all deep in the back country. However, even for them, a phone can be a lifeline to help.

The county recently announced that it would begin installing emergency cellular phones on the county’s most isolated wilderness trails and along the shoreline. This will further safety precautions by allowing injured hikers and bikers who may be trapped far in the wilderness a way to summon help.

Park officials say they hope to put in 20 phones by the end of the year, with the first three to be placed along the Santa Ana River Trail. Others are planned for South County parks and beach coves in South Laguna and Aliso. The phones will operate in a manner similar to those along freeways. Calls received by a cellular phone service provider will be forwarded to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The phones will be paid for by the Orange County Transportation Authority and the Santa Ana River Environmental Fund.

The reaction from hikers has been somewhat mixed. Some have expressed concern about seeing more of the same trappings of modern civilization in the outback that they went afield to escape.

However, even among those who are lukewarm to the idea, there is a recognition that having a safety backstop may be prudent. County parks officials say that while the number of accidents is low, more space now is open to the public. With more potential to have things go wrong, it is good to have communications. As more people come in, there also will be those unfamiliar with the outback and therefore more susceptible to accidents.

Presumably, the countryside will not become overrun with people trying to call their stockbrokers--unreachable anyway since these phones are for emergencies. Handled sensibly, the cell phones can be a positive step for safety for all.