I'm taking my cell phone with me on my trip next week in the Ely area, not to use but to have it with me for an emergency. Will there be service? Do I need to worry about condensation issues?

last time i was up there, i had no service, even in town, but i had us cellular... now i have verizon and it made it weakly to tofte but not so much afterward... so i've always left it in the car

I have AT&T never had service in the BW

I've got AT&T and I have had service in Ely.

I have had good service in Ely with AT&T and now T-Mobile. I forget where it picks up but drops out a mile or two past Customs. When I has an analog phone and AT&T, I had good service on Ranger Bay and north side of Bayley. Zip at PP. Not sure when and not sure if new tower will make a difference but I suspect it will. Also, the outfitter I use (CCO) added a gizmo with thier land line at their Moose Lake Base so in and close to thier campground there I have good service.

I stopped carrying phone on trips after I switched to digital and could see it was useless. Carried it once just so I could find out what time it was - forgot my pocket watch that trip.

Reports here of service from fire tower on Kahs. I'll bet a text message will squeak through form time to time. But then I'd be working and I go to avoid even thinking about work.

Yeah, I'm packing a wrist watch and will just leave the phone in the truck. I like your idea of getting away from work...

i carry my phone but not because i expect phone service or for rescue purposes. i use it as a camera, and for the navionics gps lake mapping app. i store it in a small waterproof bag called an aloksak-a glorified ziplock but it keeps it dry (avoiding condensation issues) and the touch screen works fine with this type of bag. for pics i take it out of the plastic bag.

tg

I was just there and the range is sadly getting longer. Downtown Ely you will have coverage and it will remain till you are about 1.5 - 2 miles outside of town.

It is nice to leave in the car. Look around the next time you are in a public place. (rant starts) It is pathetic.

I was at the children's theater recently and at the intermission I looked around. Virtually all the parents and an enormous amount of kids were all staring at glowing rectangles. Instead of using the time to discuss the play together everyone was absorbed with their ipads and smart phones.

Go to a restaurant, see how many times you reach for your phone. Start paying attention at how frequently it distracts you from a conversation with a loved one (especially children).

See what it does to a kids attention span. Because of financial circumstances, we cut cable in 2008. What we found as an unintended consequence was our children got creative and stopped becoming so bored so quickly (they were about 3 and 4 at the time)!

We still have one tv but only have it attached to an appletv for photos and about one movie every few months. My kids NEVER complain about nothing to do. Yet I see many of their friends freaking out if they are not constantly distracted by stimuli.

The creativity that my 8 and 9 year old exemplify everyday is awesome. And they are not as influenced by the media. You would be amazed at how desensitized you may have have become from tv. Take three months off and then turn it on. You will have a totally different prospective.

I have an iphone, but since "noticing" the unintended consequences of these lit up rectangles, I try to leave it in the car or away from the dinner table as much as possible. They are great tools but can also take over if we are not careful :P

/Sorry. rant over.

Good points George...

very good points---

Perhaps I read it here but I like the idea of when out to dinner, stack all of the phones, etc., inone pile and first person to reach for thiers also pays the tab for the table.

I admit I'm addicted - but not on camping trips.

I had a buddy last year that was sending photos and texting to his family from horse lake! I have no idea from what phone or what carrier, I did not ask since I have no interest in bringing my phone. Also another friend called his wife from Bog on our last winter trip. I was sorta conflicked about the whole thing. On the one hand it made me sad that he could even make a call but, on the other I felt good because it was his first trip and his wife was worried sick about him. his stress level went way down when he realised his phone worked. I do believe he had a better time knowing he could let his family know he was ok. so I do suppose there is an up side to the phone thing.

I'm going in without it, I don't want to see texts or voice mails from work...

That's what spot is for :)

quote George: "That's what spot is for :)"

Agreed. I brought my SPOT last year and it was a great way to keep the families from worrying sick about 4 women in the wilderness lol

I get cell service in town but about two miles out, dead zone. I have AT&T for a provider.