No cell phone coverage/signal around Mt. Rainier area (Seattle: apartment, rental)

[eightbitguy]

Another reason there isn't good coverage is because mountains are particularly hard to get radio signals to go around. Normal towers have signals that go out in all directions but when you have mountainous terrain the signals don't go nearly as far. If you want to cover a ski resort (for example) you put one antenna on the side of the mountain and point it straight at the resort. It is virtually impossible to cover an area like the majority of a mountain's faces. You'd need a tower every mile or so pointed up at the mountain to cover the handful of people who might be on that part at any given time.

(I work for one of the large telecom companies)

[mschrief]

We owned land in Eatonville and I could never get ANY signal, and this was a mile from town. Yet another reason to not build. We sold the land and relocated.

[Thom52]

I have heard that the blackout around Rainier was done on purpose to keep the Wilderness effect intact.

T-mobile is only for city folk. Verizon will get a lot more coverage in the wilds. But Rainier....ferget about it.

When I did a lot of hiking in the Rainier area we would know exactly where you could start getting a signal, and would pull over to send the "made it safely back to the car from the hike" call to spouses. Usually a few cars would be pulled off at the signal cutoff points, so the coverage limits are pretty well known to the regulars of the area.

[bloom]

Related, the federal regime has proposed nearly tripling the entrance fees (~$70) for Rainier and Olympic and other NPs. What do you think about that?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by bloom

Related, the federal regime has proposed nearly tripling the entrance fees (~$70) for Rainier and Olympic and other NPs. What do you think about that?

OK.. I have always lived very near NPs, so...after 45 yrs of buying annual NP passes, I finally qualified for a Senior Pass @$10 for life. Sorry that deal just increased from $10 to $80 (Similar rate increase to my WA Property taxes. $800/yr to $16,000/yr) Same home, just more worn out.

Yes... NP are not keen on Cell towers (even the ones that look similar to trees).

so only get coverage at NP lodges (sometimes).

TREES (and Mtns) are rough on coverage. The Evergreen State still has quite a few trees.

[SunAndRain808]

Originally Posted by Crashj007

This is a joke post, right? People go to these places to get away from that carp. For emergency help get a radio to communicate with the forest service.

Listen man. Not all of us have radios, or even wiling to spend extra money to buy radios.

Yes, fine, people go to Mt Rainier area to get away from the city life. I understand that.

But when you're driving along the highway that leads up to Mt Rainier park, there should be cell phone signal in case one's vehicle breaks down, gets into an auto collision, or simply need to access the internet to find information on certain locales in the area (i.e. restaurants, motel lodging).

[SunAndRain808]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

There is a rather LARGE mountain in the way, and many other nearby precipices (the Cascades). The point of going to a place like Mt. Rainier (or the Olympics) is to leave civilization (including cell phones) behind, and immerse yourself in nature.

Fine that people leave the city behind and camp out in Mt Rainier park.

However, there should be some cell phone signal within the national park. I have been to Yosemite park in Cali, and Bryce Canyon park in Utah. While not all the location had cell phone signals, I had good signal bars at the main area within both of these national parks I've visited.

It is not only the Mt Rainier national park area that does not have any cell phone signals. It's also the whole stretch of highway after leaving Eatonville where there is NO signal at all. I can understand no 4G or internet signal on the phone. But cell phone reception is very important, especially when driving on the highway.

What happens if your car breaks down and you need road service?

[SunAndRain808]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

People can do whatever they want there. You don't have to use your phone if you don't want to. Nobody is forcing you. But people who need their phones should also have that option.

EXACTLY!!!

[SunAndRain808]

Originally Posted by fluffydelusions

When I drove across country there were TONS of places and stretches of highway I had no signal (T-Mobile). I switched to Verizon soon after I moved here as I was tired of the spotty coverage out here. Seems like any time I left the metro area the signal would go to crap. T-Mobile was great in NYC but here not so much. I don't even remember a time I had no signal with Verizon since switching over but I haven't been to Mt. Rainier national park yet. .

LOL! Go figure, FluffyDelusions. Yes, I have T-Mobile as my provider. I still will not bother switching over to Verizon.

I have heard, like you've said, that Verizon customers have slightly better coverage around the area prior to reaching Mt. Rainier park.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by SunAndRain808

What happens if your car breaks down and you need road service?

This happened to us last year. My transmission went out as we were entering Yosemite. We were fortunate to roll into a trailhead instead of just blocking the mountain road we were on. In our case there was a functioning pay phone for which we were incredibly thankful for, but if that had not been the case there were also 3 different vehicles that pulled over and asked us if we needed help. We ended up hitching a ride to the lodge with a park ranger and from there we took a bus to Fresno and got a rental car.

Sometimes you have to depend on the kindness of strangers. And sometimes you have to be that stranger offering kindness!