Smartphones on the trail - philosophy

Here's part 2 of 4 on trail tech. The first was on tracking devices. This one will be on the philosophy of smartphone use on the trail. The third will be practical considerations of smartphone use and the final installment will be on keeping all these gadgets charged.

There's no doubt that smartphones have changed the way we live our lives. We now have more computing power in our pocket than they used to send men to the moon. (Several times over.) Apps are available for just about anything you can imagine and the ability to connect to networks lets users communicate as never before.

Smartphone use definitely changes the trail experience. Whether that change is for the better or worse is a "religious argument" akin to abortion and gun control in that everybody has an opinion which is very unlikely to change, but that doesn't stop anyone from trying to sway everyone else.

On the positive side,  the GPS built into smartphones allows you to know exactly where you are on the planet at any given point in time. This is a big safety advantage as well as a navigational convenience. You can now bring your entire music library with you as well as books (textual and audio) and even movies if you have enough memory. The previously mentioned network capability allows texting, blogging and phone calls on up to 60-70% of the PCT according to some estimates. There are compass apps, calculators, clocks and alarms, etc, etc, etc.

On the negative side, the argument generally goes that all of this connectivity, safety and entertainment waters down the wilderness experience. Standing in a beautiful meadow or on an otherwise remote peak then taking a selfie to text to friends, blogging about it and yakking on the phone to the folks back home distracts your from fully appreciating the experience, makes the wilderness less wild and the moment less extraordinary. We are surrounded by a million things beeping at us and demanding our attention at home, do we really need them here; in the wilderness?

Luckily, we CAN have it both ways. I would argue that 95% of technology users forget that their devices have an "off" switch. Once we get a new device and start using it, it's very easy to become a slave to it. But it doesn't have to be that way. It's really simple; if you don't need it, TURN IT OFF. This simple philosophy allows you to choose your own wilderness experience.

So I fall on the side of bringing the phone along, learning how to use it to the best advantage on the trail, then turning it off except when it's really needed. This not only preserves the wilderness experience, but also your batteries, which is a real consideration on the trail.