Hiking without cell phones & gadgets

[foodbag]

In 1999 and 2005 I did long AT hikes without benefit of a cell phone, GPS, altimeter or any of that other stuff. All I had was my Wingfoot guidebook. Now, as retirement approaches and I begin turning my gaze toward returning to the Trail, I am weighing the impact of using any devices, other than a camera and a watch, on my own hiking philosophy.

I must admit that I was envious of a group of hikers that I encountered in '05 who ordered a pizza for dinner at a shelter in NJ. But, I found that shambling along unconnected, without even so much as an iPod, really allowed me to disconnect and I'm not sure that I would want to give that up, even though I'll be in my sixties, and most likely will need to bail out at some point when my feet start acting up, as I know they will. The act of bailing was certainly a challenge after my first two hikes.

Lively Philosophical Discussion anyone?

[Gambit McCrae]

This may help you decide.

"A Kabash On Electronics"


I considered the same, and if the phone were only for making calls I would probably not carry it, but in todays time, the phone is a multi tool that has consumed the needs of many devices. Including guidebook with integrated GPS and real time location without needed service so that is handy

[FlyPaper]

In 1999 and 2005 I did long AT hikes without benefit of a cell phone, GPS, altimeter or any of that other stuff. All I had was my Wingfoot guidebook. Now, as retirement approaches and I begin turning my gaze toward returning to the Trail, I am weighing the impact of using any devices, other than a camera and a watch, on my own hiking philosophy.

I must admit that I was envious of a group of hikers that I encountered in '05 who ordered a pizza for dinner at a shelter in NJ. But, I found that shambling along unconnected, without even so much as an iPod, really allowed me to disconnect and I'm not sure that I would want to give that up, even though I'll be in my sixties, and most likely will need to bail out at some point when my feet start acting up, as I know they will. The act of bailing was certainly a challenge after my first two hikes.

Lively Philosophical Discussion anyone?

Although there are pros and cons, I personally prefer to leave most technology at home. I keep a pay as you go TracFone (make sure it is CDMA and not GSM). I feel sorry for folks hiking with earbuds listening to whatever. Seems like a wasted opportunity to be in nature.

[Slo-go'en]

What ever. This subject had been beaten to death many times. Just as long distance hiking was not possible before zip lock bags, the same is now true for smart phones.

There are long stretches of the AT where the only sounds of Nature is the drone of highway traffic or just the crunch of my feet. I'd rather listen to music.

[Gambit McCrae]

Although there are pros and cons, I personally prefer to leave most technology at home. I keep a pay as you go TracFone (make sure it is CDMA and not GSM). I feel sorry for folks hiking with earbuds listening to whatever. Seems like a wasted opportunity to be in nature.

Why would you feel bad for people enjoying what they are doing?

[Rain Man]

I finished the AT last year at age 66. Was late to the cell phone game at large, not just on the AT. I love my paper maps.

That said, I did transition to smart phones and apps. I wouldn't hike on the AT any longer without my Guthook. (I still carry paper maps and copies of guidebook pages too.)

As far as earbuds, I love history books and occasionally will listen to one or more on long hikes if hiking alone.

And yes, I have ordered pizza delivery to AT shelters more than once!

The rule absolutely is "Hike Your Own Hike."

[Dan Roper]

Yeah, this subject has been beaten to death. People have strong opinions, express them, and thereby prompt strongly-held counter opinions. So the following is offered as an example of how I like to do it.

Last week, I did a section from Massie Gap to I-81 in Virginia. I didn't carry a phone or any other electronic advice, except my old pocket-sized Sony camera. My longest days were 14, 12 and 14 miles. I listened to bird songs, which I'm pretty knowledgeable about; I did a lot of thinking (more along the lines of "my feet hurt" than any profound thoughts that might change the world); and I occasionally stopped and talked with other backpackers. Over the past 11 years, I've sectioned from Springer to Virginia. I've never carried an electronic device. I like quiet and solitude and the feeling that I'm not tethered to the tyranny of instant and perpetual availability. I like bird song, wind, and the domestic sounds coming from the next town, far down the mountain. The two young people I hiked with did carry phones. One used it to arrange a shuttle from a mountain top on our second-to-last day, thus relieving me of the vague, nagging worry of "how will we get back to our cars? Soon, perhaps as early as this fall, I'll proceed on my next section hike without the company of one or both of my 20-something sons. I will miss the access to their phones - I'll be out of touch with my family for days at a time; I won't be able to call on one of them to make the helpful shuttle call; I won't have it in case of an emergency. In some ways, I am being selfish. If my family needs me badly, it might take hours or even a day or more to track me down. But I prefer life untethered to electronics.

[colorado_rob]

Sure, beaten to death, but what subject on here is NOT beaten to death? "How much will my hike cost". "What is the best tent for an AT thru". The list is endless. So what? Good topic to discuss, the cell-phone thing. If people are annoyed by repetitive posts, why do they bother to respond??????

So, my take; first, on a typical hike yesterday, a local, quick 7-miler to stretch our legs, we saw a dozen or so people. All young. Every single one of them had ear buds in. Every one. WHAT are they listening to? It baffles me, actually.

But, then again, maybe one day out of four on the trail I'm either listening to music or listening to an audio book on my phone. Makes a day cruise by, and some days out there are just plain otherwise boring.

Mostly though, cell phones are fantastic for four things: navigation, can't be beat, way better than maps (IMO) and just as good these days as stand-alone GPS units. Then, in the evenings, I like to read. A lot. So, my kindle app satisfies that need very well. Then there's that emergency thing, and the occasional touching base with a loved one. And these days, cell phone cameras are stunningly good. One device, four important functions!

We live in a golden age of tech, which can be carried and still used only occasionally to great benefit.

But then again, the beautiful sounds of nature and the sounds of silence....

[FlyPaper]

Why would you feel bad for people enjoying what they are doing?

Similar to why I feel bad if a child plays 12 hours of video games a day. They don't know what they're losing.

[Lone Wolf]

In 1999 and 2005 I did long AT hikes without benefit of a cell phone, GPS, altimeter or any of that other stuff. All I had was my Wingfoot guidebook. Now, as retirement approaches and I begin turning my gaze toward returning to the Trail, I am weighing the impact of using any devices, other than a camera and a watch, on my own hiking philosophy.

I must admit that I was envious of a group of hikers that I encountered in '05 who ordered a pizza for dinner at a shelter in NJ. But, I found that shambling along unconnected, without even so much as an iPod, really allowed me to disconnect and I'm not sure that I would want to give that up, even though I'll be in my sixties, and most likely will need to bail out at some point when my feet start acting up, as I know they will. The act of bailing was certainly a challenge after my first two hikes.

Lively Philosophical Discussion anyone?

i never hike with that stuff

[Dogwood]

Hiking - backpacking - is a vehicle for detoxing from so many addictions and habits especially in the cultural sense. Try it. It will likely reveal unrealized addictions and habits, making ourselves more aware of what we take for granted or are spoiled by. Backpacking involves some expanding and adapting to new comfort zones.

[somers515]

To the OP: How about consider taking it to ease your anxiety of when you have to bail out and use it as a camera/watch but not otherwise use it? Just put it in airplane mode. You could tell your family you will only turn it on when in town so no one expects to hear from you and you can stay disconnected while on the trail. Basically you can have the best of both worlds. Or are you afraid that if you have it you won't be able to resist checking it?

[GaryM]

What if the phone is in airplane mode for the hike?
Just using it with GPS on and Guthook running???

[Southeast]

People that want no electronics sure post about it all lot.

[colorado_rob]

Even beyond Airplane Mode (which most folks, I believe, hike with most of the time to save battery), how about carrying an old cell phone that has no service connected to it? I do this, actually, for a backup device when I'm solo in sketchy terrain. Used cell phones are dirt cheap. Get a late model used on on Amazon or wherever, use it for camera, guthook, music player, kindle reader, map reader, AT guide reader, you name it, you just cannot talk to anyone on it!

People that want no electronics sure post about it all lot.

Yep, don't they ya know! Like the guy below with over 30,000 posts???

[Dogwood]

Even beyond Airplane Mode (which most folks, I believe, hike with most of the time to save battery), how about carrying an old cell phone that has no service connected to it? I do this, actually, for a backup device when I'm solo in sketchy terrain. Used cell phones are dirt cheap. Get a late model used on on Amazon or wherever, use it for camera, guthook, music player, kindle reader, map reader, AT guide reader, you name it, you just cannot talk to anyone on it!

Great idea. Most will not give it serious enough consideration though. Compulsive disorders, extent of habits, and consequences of "addiction" especially when they are promoted by culture as desirable are indifferently treated or complacently acceptable at best. Interwad connectivity at the expense of disconnecting from other aspects of LIFE and yakability are what most find themselves habituated by E-escaping and electronic addiction.


Hiking can be a vehicle for examining our behaviors and norms and detoxing from them. Greater awareness and clarity are good goals.


Try shorter term electronic detoxes before the hike.


So no one accuses me of pointing at others from a supposed personal ivory tower attitude I have struggled with this too.

[Dogwood]

Then what of electronic addicts? While the majority of people use electronic devices to open the world to them, the addict’s world gets smaller and smaller until it is contained in various-sized boxes. Fear of reality drives them further in until it becomes difficult to communicate face-to-face. They can text, e-mail, Facebook, tweet and use any number of other electronic methods because it removes the emotion from interaction. They have escaped into a virtual world with the mistaken belief that it’s a safe place, but this world becomes a prison.


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/barb-..._b_795186.html


Lack of emotion and in person physiological identifiers has consequences in content and clarity of communication. It carries over to how we treat each other. Who else has noticed this and the underlined above in U.S. culture?



...addicted to internet use? A new Chinese study argues that it certainly happens; it clearly changes brain and behavior; and that the brain changes seen arein many ways similar to what happens with drug addiction and gambling...
behavioral "addictions" lead to the same brain changes as pharmacological ones....The results were fairly similar(in the Chinese electronic addiction study) to what was seen in people who frequently used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine.


https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/b...addiction-real

[jefals]

I say take the phone. Think of it like insurance - if you wanna use it, you have it.

[Another Kevin]

I take my phone. It's a camera, a notebook, a GPS, wildflower, tree, bird and rock identification guides, a map, a guidebook and whatever novel I'm reading. It doesn't have service in most of the places I hike, so I'm not even tempted to take it out of airplane mode.

And, as with most nasty habits, I don't do it in front of others.

[FrogLevel]

I don't feel the need to "disconnect" from anything. I enjoy podcasts and I enjoy nature. Sometimes I hike with music and other times I'll hike without anything.

I think the disdain for electronics or the addiction to them says more about the individual complaining than it does greater society.