Long article on Cell phones in Yellowstone and Glacier

How far back should we roll technology? For some, the park sure would be nicer to visit if it wasn't for those "horseless carriages" people drive around. Cell phone signals are invisible, converstations on them aren't any louder than a group of hikers talking amongst themselves, but the fact you only can hear one side of the conversation does make eavesdropping a bit less enjoyable. The national parks encompass millions of acres, you can find a quiet spot pretty easily. What we have here is not concern over damage to the experience of visiting the back country, but rather a small group of self important people who get off on imposing their will on others. Every year people die in the back country and maybe a few of them would still be with us if they had a way to contact rescue workers. Even more people get lost and money is spent on search and rescue efforts, which could have been avoided had the person been able to make contact and report that either they were safe and delayed or were able to relay their location to expediently arrange their safe return. This smacks of the "emperor's new clothes" syndrome. Someone self proclaimed expert claiming some non-existent fact (cell phone services will cause harm to the back country experience) and everyone nodding in agreement. There is a reason lemmings usually meet an undesirable fate, they don't take the time or energy to realize what really is going on.