I need to be able to stay in touch with my wife during my hike. I though sending each other emails every day would be a good way to communicate without the use of a cell phone (short battery life and might offend others). Does anyone know if a blackberry type device (wireless email) would get reception on the trail? How did most of you keep in touch with your spouse during your hike?
Bigfoot
Pocketmail is great. It’s a small device which you place next to a phone receiver and you can send and receive email. The device weighs 8.5 ounces including the batteries. Dimensions: 6.5 inches x 3 inches x .75 inch.
The keyboard is small. I find it impossible to type normally, but I quickly became proficient at typing with my two thumbs. I replaced the two AA batteries once a month—just to be sure they didn’t die while I was on the trail—and I never had any problem with low battery power. Someone suggested to NOT use the backlight function because that uses too much battery power. I took that advice. The pocketmail device worked fine in extreme heat and extreme cold.
I suggest keeping the customer service 800 number written down somewhere. On the PCT this year, Potato Picker had a problem with his device, and had to call someone at home to find the service number. After that, I kept the number with me.
At the end of your term, pocketmail will renew your service automatically. They’ll send you an email to your pocketmail address the day before they renew you and charge your credit card. If you respond that you don’t want to be renewed, no problem. But if you don’t happen to check your email that very day, it seems like you’re charged for another term. Keep track of your expiration date.
Since most thru-hikes are 6 months long or less, a 6-month service plan works well. With that in mind, do not activate your service until right before you begin your hike.
yogi
Bibfoot,
I didn’t find, staying in touch, during my thru. I was able to call home at least once a week and most times it was every 5 days.
I frequently went into towns to resupply and could find a phone.
a couple exceptions were; Port Clinton and Crawford Notch in NH. The only public phone in Port Clinton is in the hotel and I was there the day it was closed, Monday I believe. At Crawford Notch I walked .5 to the Whiley House resturant to find that the phone had been removed because of road work.
Grampie-N->2001
Grampie
Thanks for the info. I’ve read that most people use pocketmail to keep up their journals, but that requires making it to a phone (in which case i would just call). I want to be able to send emails every day if possible, and that is why i wandered if a blackberry (http://www.blackberry.net) would get reception on the trail. There has to be someone out there who has tried it before. The RIM 850/950 series are very small and weight 4.7 onces. If it works, that would be sweet. But like Grampie said, maybe staying in touch is a weekly thing.
Bigfoot
We only met two hikers in '02 that were staying in touch everyday. Both of them left in TN homesick. Flame and I called our family about once a week. More would have seemed too much and taken away from the adventure. Our children (24-29) liked the mystery of what was coming next. If we had called them everyday it would have taken away from the surprise of what mom and dad had done the previous week. Enjoy your hike. One thing that we did when we got home was cancel our cellphone. We decided that “in-touch” was too much. We enjoyed our time on the trail without the ring of a stupid phone. No phones, no beepers. Life is great, go take a hike!!!
Papa Smurf