1 | Verizon Cell Phone Report for the Pacific Crest Trail | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Mile | Location | Signal Rating | Notes | Date | Reported By |
3 | 0 - 10 | First 10 miles | A | Good coverage for at least the first 10 miles. | 1/09 | Christopher |
4 | 0 - 10 | First 10 Miles | A | I had great cell service and could send emails and make calls. | 5/09 | Miner |
5 | 21 | Lake Morena | F | Lake Morena area weak to non-existant | 1/09 | Christopher |
6 | 21 | Lake Morena | F | Lake Morena Campground was a total dead zone | 5/09 | Miner |
7 | 27 | Boulder Oaks Campgroung | A | Good service | 1/09 | Christopher |
8 | 27 | Interstate 8 | A | Good service near I-8 | 5/09 | Miner |
9 | 43 | Mount Laguna Store | Good service at Mt Laguna Store. | 5/09 | Miner | |
10 | ~46 | Mount Laguna | B | iffy service at Desert View Picnic Area but good just north of there for at least 3 miles | 1/09 | Christopher |
11 | 68 | Rodriguez Water Tank | A | I had no trouble sending email and making calls. | 5/09 | Miner |
12 | 68 | Rodriguez Water Tank | B | Pageplus** prepaid showed only a medium signal, but phone worked well. | 4/09 | Halfmile |
13 | 68.5 - 78 | S of Scissors Crossing | A | Good Service | 1/09 | Christopher |
14 | 78 | Scissors Crossing | - | Had some coverage at scissors crossing and surrounding area. | 5/09 | Miner |
15 | 78 | Scissors Crossing | C, B | Kept loosing connection - Ellie 5/08; Pageplus** prepaid worked well on 4/09 - Halfmile | Ellie, Halfmile | |
16 | ~80 - 95 | San Felipe Hills | B | Good connection most of the time up in the mountains | 5/08 | Ellie |
17 | 91 | Third Gate Cache | B | Occasionally dropped in and out as talking | 5/08 | Ellie |
18 | 101 | Barrel Spring | F, B | No service - Ellie 5/08; Pageplus** prepaid has a medium signal near the road and the phone works ok - Halfmile 4/09 | Ellie, Halfmile | |
19 | 110 | Warner Springs | A | Good signal within a 1 mile or town - Elie 5/08; Pageplus** prepaid has a strong signal in Warner Springs - Halfmile 4/09; Warner Springs had good coveraage in town - Miner 5/09 | 5/08 | Ellie, Halfmile, Miner |
20 | 115 | Agua Caliente Creek | F | No service | 6/08 | Ellie |
21 | 119 | Lost Valley Road | B | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
22 | 127 | Chihuahua Valley Road | F | No service | 6/08 | Ellie |
23 | 136 | Tule Canyon Road | A | Great Service | 5/09 | Grayhair |
24 | ~143 | .5 miles past Hiker Oasis Cache AKA Anza Cache | C | Can use cell, but not send mail, can receive mail | 6/08 | Ellie |
25 | 151 | Hwy 74 | B | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
26 | 179 | Idyllwild | A | I had great service while in Idyllwild. | 5/09 | Miner |
27 | ~160 - 185 | San Jacinto's | - | In the San Jacinto Wilderness from Tamarack Outlook Jct, down past Saddle Jct, to Strawberry Jct, I often had a strong signal showing on my phone, but I could not actually make a call or send a text message. I had to descend halfway down to the Deer Springs TH (I took this instead of Devils' Slide) before I was able to make a call. | 5/09 | Miner |
28 | 179 - 207 | Saddle Junction to Snow Creek Road | F | No signal from Saddle Junction down to Snow Creek Road and then within a day of Big Bear | 6/08 | Ellie |
29 | 200 - 208 | A | Had great coverage the whole way down | 3/15 | Ketha | |
30 | 213 | Mesa Wind Farm | - | They have a cell repeater so you get a weak signal, but it is reliable for texting and voice calls. | 5/09 | Miner |
31 | 242 | Near Heart Bar Creek | - | Maybe .5 to 1 mile after the junction with the CR&H trail down to Heart Bar Creak, as you are ascending, you have panoramic views of all the surrounding mountains. I got medium signal strength and could text and call fine. | 5/09 | Miner |
32 | 252 | Onyx Summit | F | From 0.5 before I had a couple bars but could not connect and at Oynx Summit itself it went from 1 bar to searching and could not connect. | 5/09 | Miner |
33 | ~274 - 342 | Big Bear to Cajon Pass | B | Out of Big Bear it was a B all the way to Cajon Pass. | 6/08 | Ellie |
34 | 342 - 364 | Cajon Pass to Inspiration Point near Wrightwood | C | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
35 | 342-345 | Cajon Pass area | A | had good cell strength | 6/09 | Miner |
36 | 364 | Wrightwood | A | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
37 | 364 | Wrightwood | A | Good coverage in town. | 6/09 | Miner |
38 | 370 | Inspiration Point | F | Little signal, but could not connect. | 6/09 | Miner |
39 | 364 - 378 | Inspiration Point to Baden Powell | C | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
40 | 380 | Mt Baden Powell | B | 1.5 miles after Mt. Baden-Powel with a direct view of some sort of civilation on the desert floor below, I had medium strength and was able to text without problem. | 6/09 | Miner |
41 | 378 - | Baden Powell to Windy Gap | C | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
42 | - 390 | Windy Gap to Buckhorn Campground | D/F | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
43 | ~390 - | Buckhorn Campground to Angeles Crest Christian Camp | F | No service | 6/08 | Ellie |
44 | 398 | Cloudburst Summit on Hwy 2 | F | Had weak signal but couldn't connect. | 6/09 | Miner |
45 | 419 - 454 | Mill Creek RS to Agua Dulce | B | - | 6/08 | Ellie |
46 | 443 - 445 | Soledad Canyon | A | At least 1mi before and at least 2mi after Soledad canyon, I had signal and could text. | 6/09 | Miner |
47 | 450 - 456 | Hwy 14 to Aqua Dulce | A | I had no trouble calling/texting once I was in sight of the highway up through Aqua Dulce. | 6/09 | Miner |
48 | 464 | Hiltop at 463.7 | Last good cell coverage was at the top of the hill (mile 463.7) | 4/10 | Ray | |
49 | ~466 | Bouquet Canyon Road Area | F | No coverage along Bouquet Canyon in either direction for at least a mile. | 4/10 | Ray |
50 | 479 | San Francisquito Canyon Road which goes down to Casa de Luna | F | Nothing on trail near road. | 6/09 | Miner |
51 | 479 | Casa de Luna (AKA the Andersons) | Verizon users can get reception at the store on the corner of San Francisquito and Spunky. (The new store) | 2012 | Joe Anderson | |
52 | 558 | Tehachapi-Willow Springs Rd | B | Good signal strength. Could make calls. | 6/09 | Miner |
53 | 558 | Tehachapi/Mojave | A | - | 7/08 | Ellie |
54 | 566 | Hhwy 58 | A | Good strength. No trouble making calls. | 6/09 | Miner |
55 | 558 - 567 | Willow Springs Rd to Hwy 58 | A | - | 7/08 | Ellie |
56 | 567 - 575 | N of Hwy 58 | F | No service north of ridge | 7/08 | Ellie |
57 | ~583 | Jeep Rd to Golden Oak Spring | D | - | 7/08 | Ellie |
58 | ~595 | S of Hamp Williams Pass | - | When I do trail work just S of Hamp Williams Pass, I use Verizon tri-mode to call home. This is while looking out at openings in the oak brush on the E-facing slopes climbing up to Hamp Williams Pass. I've found that I had to check for at least three bars and not all of the openings were good, but reception improved when within a mile of the pass | 2/08 | Campy |
59 | 583 - 602 | Golden Oak Spring to Robin Bird Spring | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
60 | 602 - 616 | Jawbone Canyon Rd to Kelso Valley Rd | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
61 | ~650 | Weldon | D | - | 7/08 | Ellie |
62 | ~650 | Lake Isabella | B | - | 7/08 | Ellie |
63 | ~650 | Onyx | B | - | 7/08 | Ellie |
64 | 652 | Walker Pass | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
65 | 652 | Walker Pass | - | There is zero cell phone reception (Verizon) either at Walker Pass or the campground, and for that matter, it was call failed anywhere beyond highway 58. | 5/08 | Ralph A |
66 | 652 - 703 | Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
67 | 703 | Kennedy Meadows | F | Locals report no service available here from any carrier. The store has a payphone outside and a private business phone inside the store. | 8/08 | Wandering Bob |
68 | 703 | Kennedy Meadows | F | Nothing | 6/09 | Miner |
69 | 703 - 719 | Kennedy Meadows to Cow Creek | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
70 | 719 - 745 | Cow Creek to Trail Pass Trail | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
71 | ~745 | Horseshoe Meadow | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
72 | ~745 - 766 | Horseshoe Meadow to Crabtree Meadow | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
73 | 766 | Mt Whitney Summit | B | I turned on cell and immediately received text message. | 6/09 | Miner |
74 | 766 - 780 | Crabtree Meadow to Forester Pass | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
75 | 780 - 793 | Forester Pass to Glenn Pass | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
76 | 790 | Onion Valley | F | A few isolated places had some signal and someone received a call, but mostly no, especially at the trail head. | 6/09 | Miner |
77 | ~790 | Onion Valley Campground (below Kearsarge Pass) | F | Locals report no phone service available from any carrier. | 8/08 | Wandering Bob |
78 | Independence and Hwy 395 to Bishop | A | Good cell coverage | 6/09 | Miner | |
79 | 793 - 817 | Glenn Pass to Mather Pass | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
80 | 817 - 838 | Mather Pass to Muir Pass | F | No service | 7/08 | Ellie |
81 | 877 | Lake Edison, VVR | F | No Verizon coverage. I did borrow an AT&T phone that worked on the lake at the ferry landings. However, AT&T did not work in VVR away from lake shore. | 7/09 | Miner |
82 | 907 | Red's Meadow | C | Had a signal at resturant, but didn't try to connect. | 7/09 | Miner |
83 | 907 | Reds Meadow | - | No reception anywhere in the Sierra until getting to Reds Meadow. Then I got a full signal | 7/08 | Ellie |
84 | 907 | Mammoth Lakes | A | Good coverage in town and at the ski resort. | 7/09 | Miner |
85 | 941 | Tuolumne Meadows | B | Had some coverage and made a few calls (phone said it was roaming). | 7/09 | Miner |
86 | 941 | Tuolumne Meadows | - | I got ATT coverage in Tuolumne Meadows, but my friend with Verizon did not. | 2/08 | Capt Bivy |
87 | 941 | Yosemite Valley | - | Digital cell service is available in and near Yosemite Village to AT&T and Verizon customers | - | nps.gov |
88 | 1093 - 1095 | Hwy 50 to Echo Lake | B | Good strength, was able to text. | 7/09 | Miner |
89 | South Lake Tahoe | A | Good Coverage | 7/09 | Miner | |
90 | 1127 | Near Barker Pass | F | Had weak signal, but couldn't connect. | 7/09 | Miner |
91 | 1134 | Near Ward Peak | B | About a mile before Ward Peak along a ridgeline where I had a great view of the north side of Lake Tahoe, I made several calls. | 7/09 | Miner |
92 | 1153 - 1156 | Donner Pass Area | B | Medium Signal | 7/09 | Miner |
93 | Pooh's Corner | B | Had Coverage | 7/09 | Miner | |
94 | 1159 | Interstate 80 | A | Good Coverage | 7/09 | Miner |
95 | 1198 | Sierra City | C | Had weak coverage at the Church during day (told there is a repeater in the area that is often turned off at night) as the signal disappeared late afternoon. Restaurant in town advertised Verizon worked there, but in the evening when we went, it had no signal. | 7/09 | Miner |
96 | 1265 | Big Creek Rd (33N56) | C | Weak signal at rd junction, but call went through fine. | 7/09 | Miner |
97 | 1288 | Belden | B | Coverage was stronger by the rail road tracks than at Belden town, but I still had good coverage as was able to call the Brattens to pick me up. Had coverage all through town of varying strength. | 7/09 | Miner |
98 | ~1336 | Near Hwy 36 | - | Met other hikers in CA Sect. N who made calls on Verizon about 4 miles S/O and 1 mile S/O Hwy 36. Calls were a few minutes each, with no drops. | 8/08 | Geezer |
99 | 1353 | Drakesbad | F | Did not work. | 8/09 | Miner |
100 | 1377 | Old Station | F | At the road junction that goes to store had weak coverage and was able to receive a text (but unreliable). Coverage at store - barely a signal but didn't work. At Hideaway - no signal | 8/09 | Miner |
101 | 1382 | Hwy 44 near Subway Cave | C | I had a weak signal by the road and was able to call Firefly though it dropped the 1st time. | 8/09 | Miner |
102 | 1385 | Overlook, trailhead off Hwy 44 | A | Good SIgnal | 8/09 | Miner |
103 | 1414 - 1416 | Near Hwy 299 | B/C | From 1.5 mile before Hwy 299 through to the highway, had medium signal. Calls connected fine though here but the voice level did drop to where it was hard to hear when actually standing at Hwy 299. | 8/09 | Miner |
104 | 1507 | Interstate 5 | Had coverage but didn't try to connect. | 8/09 | Miner | |
105 | Etna | A | Good coverage in town. | 8/09 | Miner | |
106 | 1662 | Seiad Valley | C | Barely had a signal and couldn't connect except I did receive 1 text message. Couldn't send one back though. Was told at the store that there was a truck parking area where the signal was stronger down the road but didn't check. | 8/09 | Miner |
107 | 1667 | N of Seiad Valley | B | High up on the trail from the road I had medium signal and could call. | 8/09 | Miner |
108 | 1705 - 1720 | Southern Oregon | A/B | I found S Oregon to have surprisingly good coverage to Callahans and made several calls and texts.I made several calls between Wrangle (1705.5) and Siskiyou Gaps(1709.3). I pretty much had continuous coverage from Grouse Gap Shelter (1715.9) to Callahans (1719.7) and sent/received many texts. | 8/09 | Miner |
109 | Ashland | A | Excellent coverage around town. | 8/09 | Miner | |
110 | 1719 - 1744 | B | Leaving Ashland. I had on and off coverage from when I left Ashaland through Highway 66. | 8/09 | Miner | |
111 | 1750 | Hyatt Lake Campground | Cell only at Hyatt Lake PCT campground | 2012 | Dana Law | |
112 | 1766 | Road 3804 area | Cell only at mile 1766 near road 3804 | 2012 | Dana Law | |
113 | Lake of the Woods Resort | Cell and Data at Lake of the Woods Resort | 2012 | Dana Law | ||
114 | 1830 | Mazama Village | A | Good Coverage. | 8/09 | Miner |
115 | 1835 | Rim Village | B | Weak to strong coverage depending on where you are standing. Coverage continued as trail followed rim away from village for at least a few miles. | 8/09 | Miner |
116 | 1853 | Highway 138 | Cell and Data at Hwy 138 Oregon | 2012 | Dana Law | |
117 | 1853 | .6 mi N of Hwy 138 | B | Medium signal | 6/09 | Halfmile |
118 | ~1858 | Near Mt. TTielsen | B | Medium sIgnal | 6/09 | Halfmile |
119 | 1861 | Thielsen Creek | B | Medium signal | 6/09 | Halfmile |
120 | 1872 | Near Maidu Lake Tr | Cell and Data before Maidu Lake Trail | 2012 | Dana Law | |
121 | 1894 | S shore Summit L | C | weak signal but email works OK | 7/09 | Halfmile |
122 | Oregon Skyline Trail alternate | Cell and Data at Nip and Tuck Lake | 2012 | Dana Law | ||
123 | 1912 | Shelter Cove Resort | Cell and Data at Shelter Cove Resort | 2012 | Dana Law | |
124 | 1912 | Shelter Cove Resort | B | Good reception; has wifi service too | 7/09 | Halfmile |
125 | 1912 - 1914 | Shelter Cove area | A | Shelter Cove and up by the highway a short ways - good signal strength. | 8/09 | Miner |
126 | 1914 | Hwy 58 | B | Good signal | 7/09 | Halfmile |
127 | 1930 | Carlton Lake | C | Weak signal but email worked OK; email also worked a few miles later atop burned out ridge. | 7/09 | Halfmile |
128 | 1948 | Desane Lake | Cell and Data at Desane Lake | 2012 | Dana Law | |
129 | ~1951 | Island Trail Jct | B | Good signal, email worked OK | 7/09 | Halfmile |
130 | ~1958 | Trail to Elk Lake Resort | B | Good signal, email worked OK at trail junction | 7/09 | Halfmile |
131 | 1982 | Minni Scott Spring | C | Weak signal but email worked OK | 7/09 | Halfmile |
132 | ~1984 | N of Yapoah Crater | A | Strong signal in areas with views to E | 7/09 | Halfmile |
133 | 1990 | McKenzie Pass | F | No Coverage | 8/09 | Miner |
134 | Sisters | A | Good coverage around town. | 8/09 | Miner | |
135 | 1986 | S Matthieu Lake | B | Medium signal email works OK | 7/09 | Halfmile |
136 | 2001 | Near Big Lake Youth Camp | B | Medium signal, phone works OK | 7/09 | Halfmile |
137 | 2007 | Hwy 20, Santiam Pass | - | There is a cell tower at the Hoodoo ski area just South of Hwy 20 and just West of the PCT. Provides pretty good coverage for several miles North and South of the highway on the PCT. | 9/08 | Ron & Julie |
138 | 2007 | Santiam Pass | B | Could text without trouble. | 8/09 | Miner |
139 | 2012 | Just N of Summit Lake | A | Good signal | 7/09 | Halfmile |
140 | 2022 | Rockpile Lake | C | Has cell service. [Has service for text messages but not voice - Ed 2011] | 2011 | Joshua |
141 | 2050 | Many Lakes Viewpoint | B | Medium signal | 7/09 | Halfmile |
142 | ~2068 | N of N Pinhead Butte | A | Good signal | 7/09 | Halfmile |
143 | ~2080 - 2097 | Timothy Lake to Government Camp | AT&T coverage was good, while Verizon coverage as of last July was zero. | 7/08 | Fuzz McPherson | |
144 | ~2102 - 2107 | near Government Camp up to Timberline lodge | Verizon coverage was good | 7/08 | Fuzz McPherson | |
145 | 2107 | Timberline Lodge | B | Good signal | 7/09 | Halfmile |
146 | 2155 | Cascade Locks | B | Good signal | 7/09 | Halfmile |
147 | 2155 | Cascade Locks | A | Good coverage around town. | 9/09 | Miner |
148 | Big Huckleberry Mountain | B | Good signal | 7/09 | Halfmile | |
149 | 2238 | Trout Lake (town) | F | No Verizon service in the town of Trout Lake | 7/09 | Halfmile |
150 | 2303 | White Pass | A | Great reception at White Pass | 5/09 | The Lees |
151 | 2402 | Snoqualmie Pass | A | Good coverage from ski slopes into town. | 9/09 | Miner |
152 | ~2449 | Cathedral Pass Area | - | !n neighborhood of Cathedral Pass, I made two perfectly good non-roaming calls with Verizon, even though the phone was showing no bars! | 8/08 | Geezer |
153 | 2476 | Skykomish/Baring | A | Had good coverage in towns and at the Dinsmore's. | 9/09 | Miner |
154 | ~2501 | Red Pass | I was able to get a Verizon signal at Red Pass, in the section north of Stevens Pass. My phone battery was low so I only got a text out before I lost the signal, but my friend was able to make a phone call, he also had Verizon. We were at the highest point right before the actual pass, around mile 2501. | 8/17 | Chris | |
155 | 2476 - 2482 | Skykomish to Valhalla Lake | A | - | 8/08 | Ellie |
156 | 2574 | Stehekin | F | No Coverage | 9/08 | Miner |
157 | 2482 - 2574 | Valhalla Lake to Stehekin | F | No service | 8/08 | Ellie |
158 | 2501 | Red Pass | C | Was able to text before I lost signal, but my friend was able to make a phone call. We were at the highest point right before the actual pass, around mile 2501. | 9/17 | Chris |
159 | 2574 - 2664 | Stehekin to Mannning Park Lodge | F | Zero Coverage | 8/08 | Ellie |
160 | 2663 | Manning Park | F | No Coverage in Manning Park, but while riding bus to Vancouver, 20 min after we left Manning Park, I had excellent coverage (charged for roaming outside of USA). | 10/09 | Miner |
161 | ||||||
162 | ** Pageplus prepaid uses the Verizon network | |||||
163 | ||||||
164 | Signal Rating | |||||
165 | A - Perfect coverage | |||||
166 | B - Moderate coverage, only occasional problems making calls | |||||
167 | C - Weak signal, or difficult to find location to successfully complete calls, but phone is usable | |||||
168 | F - No service, or too weak to successfully make calls | |||||
169 | ||||||
170 | Send updates to halfmile@pctmap.net | |||||
171 | Last updated 04/27/2010 by Halfmile | |||||
172 | www.pctmap.net -- support pcta.org -- Leave No Trace |