Cell Phones

Cell phone service at Philmont is spotty. There is limited service available in base camp, but once you get on the trail it is almost non-existent. If you are a scout, don’t even think about taking that $400 smartphone your parent’s bought you on the trail. It will break. If you are an adviser, one or two cell phones on the trail for emergency procedures only is not a bad idea. Generally, if there is a emergency you can get signal from either Verizon or AT&T. Not enough for more than a quick “Here’s my expedition number. Here’s my location. Send help!” which is all that Philmont needs.

If you are bringing a cell phone on the trail, remove the battery to preserve the battery life. If you leave it on, the battery will die quickly because the phone is using more power to basically yell louder to the cell tower since there is a mountain in the way.