A Cell Phone Booster is Essential for VanLife / TruckLife / Nomadic Living
Posted on 12/19/2019 by Nicholas Jones
Guest Post by Brian Galyon
On July 5th, 2015 my second shot at life began. I was disillusioned with the “Corporate Grind” and decided to make wholesale changes in my life. My goal? Hit the road in a 4×4 truck to see the world without the tether of a physical address. I put all of my personal belongings on Craigslist emptying out my house in just under three weeks and outfitted my Toyota Tacoma truck with all the gear necessary for self-supported travel on 4×4 trails in the American West.
I’ve spent every day of the past 4 1/2 years camping, hiking, fly fishing, and enjoying nature with my energetic four legged friend, Sierra. We primarily travel on dirt roads and 4×4 trails in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. The terrain is incredible and my lust for adventure grew leaps and bounds with each passing day.
During my travels, I began to notice an enormous amount of trash on Public Lands so I decided to take action by becoming a full-time volunteer for the US Forest Service. I formally adopted 15 USFS motorized trails and spent my time picking up trash while performing trail repair work so other outdoor enthusiasts could enjoy the splendor of nature without seeing the impact of irresponsible human behavior. I absolutely love it and volunteering is a great way to give back to Public Lands.
A life of adventure and volunteer work in mountainous regions is not for the faint of heart, you have to be prepared for anything Mother Nature can throw at you. There have been many times where my solo adventures could become dangerous due to inclement weather conditions but I’ve been lucky to avoid any life-threatening situations. The need for reliable connectivity as a solo traveler/volunteer is key and I can count on weBoost cell phone boosters to keep me in touch with family, friends, and work colleagues in the event of an emergency.
Earlier this year I was on my way up to a favorite high altitude lake in Colorado for a few days of relaxation, hiking, fly fishing, and a bit of off-grid work from camp. The 2.7-mile trail leading to this beautiful basin at an elevation of 10,700ft is very aggressive and took me 45 minutes to drive one way in my 4×4 truck. To say I was crawling along at a snail’s pace would be accurate. I arrived at the end of the trail, set up camp in a great spot along the river one mile from the lake, and began outlining my work and recreation schedule for the next few days. My plan was to stay here in this remote area fly fishing during daylight hours and kicking out content by the campfire at night.
In addition to my volunteer endeavors for the US Forest Service, I also co-host an award-winning podcast about nomadic living, create video content for my YouTube channel, and collaborate with outdoor companies. All of these endeavors require me to have connectivity in the backcountry and weBoost cell phone boosters afford me the luxury of connecting from camp.
The last thing I want to do is break camp and drive all the way back into town just to upload content or send an email and this technology has been a complete game-changer for me. The booster model I use is the Drive Reach and I’ve had amazing success establishing a strong connection in very remote areas. Gone are the frustrating days of trying to find pockets of cell phone service on Public Lands and in rural areas. As long as I have a faint signal, the Drive Reach can boost it up to 50 decibels allowing me to make calls and access the internet with ease via a wireless hotspot. Having the ability to connect virtually anywhere has greatly increased my productivity and I’m now able to respond to messages quickly, upload content as often as I wish, FaceTime with family and friends from my computer (a big plus when living a solo nomad existence), and accomplish work tasks with ease.
A few months ago I met up with another full-time traveler and good friend in the mountains south of Payson, AZ. His name is Phil and he runs the Down2Mob Overland YouTube channel…one of the most entertaining online personalities out there! Our camp was situated on a ridge high above the Tonto Basin and cell phone service was sparse. We both dedicate a good portion of our time filming our overland lifestyles and wanted to do a live stream from camp. Using a portable lightweight lithium-ion battery with a 12V plug, I grabbed the weBoost Drive Reach out of my truck and set up next to camp for our live stream. Everything went great! We spent an hour answering questions about living a nomad existence in our 4×4 trucks and really enjoyed interacting with those who tuned in. Had it not been for the weBoost Drive Reach booster, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to get a strong enough connection for our live stream.
The same holds true for recording podcast episodes, updating my website, video conferencing, collaborating with outdoor brands, and most importantly – emergency phone calls. I look at the weBoost Drive Reach as somewhat of an insurance policy for calling emergency services if needed. Living this way can be somewhat dangerous as accidents can and will happen. As I mentioned, you need to be prepared for anything Mother Nature can throw at you. Having the assurance of dedicated connectivity in the event of an emergency allows for peace of mind when traveling solo in remote backcountry areas.
This also applies to any off-grid ranches. Last winter, my good friend and podcast co-host Craig Coleman lived in an off-grid ranch 6 miles from the nearest road in the Colorado high country. His only mode of transportation to town was via a treacherous snowmobile route, often in temps dipping as low as -25F. The ranch was situated on a ridge and cell phone service was hard to come by. However, his weBoost cell phone booster allowed for dedicated connectivity which took care of two concerns – safety and isolation. As humans, we all need social interaction (some more than others) and having the ability to make and receive phone calls puts one’s mind at ease. In the event of an emergency, Craig could make the necessary phone calls for help if his situation turned dire. 
I love living a nomadic lifestyle and have decided to stay on the road traveling for the rest of my life. The people I’ve met and places I’ve seen provide me with so much inspiration, I couldn’t imagine going back to my previous way of life. I’m excited for each day and welcome sunrises with curious anticipation for what adventures may lie ahead.
I’m truly fortunate to live a free existence and hope to encourage others to find their brand of happiness. I look forward to expanding my perspectives while visiting spectacular landscapes on Planet Earth. Creating content centered around traveling is my primary task and the powerful weBoost Drive Reach cell phone booster will help me accomplish this by staying connected during my adventures. I look forward to sharing these experiences and hope you join me on this journey!
#stayconnected #weBoost
Follow Brian’s journey below:
Website: www.coloradobackcountryadventures.com
Podcast: www.coloradobackcountryadventures.com/podcast
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