When nature calls, turn off your phone.

• Position: Great Outdoors - Brief article

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Last fall, a group of hikers in the Grand Canyon called in rescue helicopters by pressing the emergency button on their satellite location device. The emergency? Their water "tasted salty." As a more wired public visits the national parks, rangers say technology is contributing to a rising number of false alarms and foolish risks. "Because of having that electronic device, people have an expectation that they can do something stupid and be rescued," says Jackie Skaggs of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, one lost...