So much for survival of the fittest. In an age of cordless communications, the help-on-demand syndrome may be leading to a dangerous mind shift in the wilderness. And the lore of the foolish cell-phone caller is growing among the ranks of search-and-rescue squads. In New Hampshire, a group of hikers pleaded for flashlights because they had only brought along one battery-powered device - the phone. (““Press 1 if you’re a bozo. Press 2 if you’re merely inconsiderate.’’) Great Smokies ranger Bob Wightman says he has ““real concerns about people beginning to take risks they wouldn’t otherwise take, feeling that help is just a phone call away.’’ It often isn’t, since phones don’t always work in remote locations.
The problem isn’t just safety. Once upon a time, the Great Outdoors meant getting away from it all. These days, with so many hikers toting cell phones, the culture clash with purists is dramatic. Sure, the technology has saved lives, but at an esthetic cost. Bob Penney is a millionaire Alaska businessman and avid fisherman. Last summer he took three brokers out on the Russian River at 3 in the morning. Before they even caught anything, Penney recalls, the brokers were on the cell working the markets in New York and Singapore. Penney should’ve thrown his friends in as bait.
