If you’ve ever visited Paradise on Mount Rainier, you know there is no reliable cell phone service.
For some, it’s a way to get away from our busy lives and social media, but for others the spotty reception is a danger in an emergency.
As some cell companies propose a mobile receiver transmitter, the National Park Service (NPS) is asking for the public's opinion. Here's how to submit your comment before July 19.
NPS prepared an environmental assessment that considers the issuance of permits to Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T that would allow co-location of a limited range wireless communications facility in the Paradise area and Mount Rainier National Park.
As of November, the proposal for cell coverage doesn't include a tower that will interfere with the natural look of Paradise.
Instead, Verizon and T-Mobile propose hiding the equipment inside the attic of the Jackson visitor center.
Why many want cell service
KIRO 7 News talked to visitors when the possible changes were first announced last year. Many said cell service is way overdue.
“Growing up around here and have a lot of families and people, tourists coming up here, especially in bad weather conditions, it’s nice to let people know where you are and that you made it safe,” Mackenzie Glisson said last November.
Lack of reliable communication in the park hampered investigators from the ranger service, FBI and Pierce County Sheriff's Department on Jan. 1, 2012, when ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed by Benjamin Colton Barnes.
As armed search teams combed the park, parkgoers were stranded and unable to tell friends and family they were safe.
The 24-year-old Barnes was found dead in the snow the next day.
Why some visitors want to remain unplugged
Diann Sheldon, who runs a guide service that brings visitors to Paradise, says while she appreciates the need for communication, she'd miss driving up to Rainier and getting off the grid.
“For me, it’s really about being up here and being unplugged, not being tied into the electronics and just being in the moment,” Sheldon said.