Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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OP was asking, I think, more about smartphones and such. I'm thinking cameras aren't "tech" gear in that context. I personally try to always have a camera when I hike. That was true 40+ years ago when I first got the hiking bug.
We rely on tech in any case... I'm sure most of our gear is CAD designed nowadays - tents, packs, shoes, etc. We wouldn't be having this discussion without it.
I will strive to be worthy, oh master.
I've theorized about this. It's interesting to hear someone else has. In my experience, the dynamic changes when you take out a camera. The camera changes you from a traveler to a tourist.
Of course, there are exceptions. At least one photographer I know can use the camera as a tool to effectively document a social situation. I just don't have that skill.
Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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Yes, Leo knows.
I shouldn't have said "no maps" . Some of the National parks had some maps, although they didn't have our trail marked as such... how would we know which one was ours??? (possible with tons of preplanning I guess)
But that was only 10% of the hike (national parks)
We did meet some hikers who printed out maps from the viadinarica website.
They were very lost and followed us for the remainder of their hike.
The maps were too low of a scale for the detail needed for the sections without marked trail (or no trail even, sometimes)
The GPS was our most used item. 30% of the time, we would hold it in our hand while walking.
The phone app had the exact same track on there, but the batteries were much better in the GPS. (Lithiums lasted 11 days, Duracells about 2 1/2)
It was a learning exerience for both of us, even though we have both completed the Triple Crown.
(it was great)
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
I hiked the LT long before cell phones or digital cameras were invented, I wore blue jeans and cotton socks the entire time, and of course an external frame pack, and I managed to survive.
A smart phone is certainly handy for calling, texting, as a very good camera, map app, etc. - sometimes I bring it with me.
Interesting what your'e saying about battery life.
During our desert trip this spring, I had my smartphone running in tracking mode, which lasted about 2 to 2.5 days.
If I had it only for looking at the route by the GPS app, it would last for about a week or more (did this once for 5 days and it drained the battery down to 50%).
Those Southeastern European countries completely lack the ambition to produce high quality maps for the public. There seems to be no company or organization to take care about, and if there is any, they take any info they can easily get and put it on paper in quite a sloppy way, focusing on the most important points only (which might be roads, alpine huts and prominent summits only).
Very different to what we have here in Central Europe, where we have maps so accurate that you could walk blindfolded. Elevations accurate to a single meter.
Something we've learned from the old Brits, I guess.
To Topic:
During my trips in the Middle East deserts, I have the smartphone handy all the time, its the main source for all route finding.
Basically these trips were the reason why I bought the smartphone in the first hand, to save me from carrying kilos of Google Earth printouts and paper copies from my worthy ancient maps.
Being able to say hello to my family back home every now and then is a bonus nice to have, as is an occassional phone call to organize a taxi.
I'm using my smartphone for hiking since 4 years now, and am extremely happy with it.
I hate phone calls and always don't want to be interrupted. But I do have an Android smartphone because it has all the other useful tools, such as GPS, compass, trail maps and guides, music, books, camera for both still and video, etc. I don't have those monthly smartphone plans. I don't do any social networking stuff at all and don't want to be interrupted by them. I use Tmobile pay as you go thingy, which costs me 10 cents a minute, and a text. The annual phone service usually costs me $30 or less. In normal life, I usually use Google Hangouts to call and text which costs nothing. I do find smartphone is very useful on trail.
Comrade! I ditched the phone and camera, too -- I don't feel a pressing need to "check in" with whomever to reassure them that I'm not dead yet; I ditched the camera because my memory is still good enough to remember most of what I want; I don't carry "smart" tech because I don't find it to be that smart; no radio because I like hearing sounds in the woods that I can't while at my house.
But I think we're in the extreme minority now. And the younger the hiker, it seems the more likely they carry tech gear, such that they can't seem to do much without bowing their heads in an iPrayer at every stop.
Hmmm....in general....could these negative opinions be age related?
I was a month or so into my hike before I remembered that the baseball season had started. I was a flip phone user pre-hike. I got a crappy old Iphone 4 to start the hike with, mostly to check the weather, but the camera was trash, and it barely held a charge.
I upgraded my phone to a decent one about a month into the hike. I absolutely loved the ability to take quality pictures, and send them off to family via text. Likewise, Guthook's app was like an easy button for planning the day's hike. I didn't download any videos, and rarely checked the news (other than to check on my beloved Red Sox.)
I admit to getting a smart phone initially, because I wasn't an experienced distance hiker. Now that I'm a somewhat experienced distance hiker, I know I could manage the AT without a smart phone, but I also know that leaving the phone behind wouldn't improve my hiking experience. It's a convenience, that's all.
My memory is trash, I'm really happy I have the pictures I have, and wish I had them for the first month of the hike.
I bring my smartphone.
Normally it's in airplane mode, so it isn't going to ring with a call or chime with an incoming message.
It serves me as a store of field notes, a few reference books, an atlas, a secondary navigation system, maybe the novel I'm reading, a camera, .... just about everything but a telephone and text messenger.
If I brought a notebook, or a field guide to birds of flowers, or a deck of maps, or a paperback novel, or a conventional camera, most hikers wouldn't say a word. Those are traditional and accepted things to have in a pack.
But there are always a few who say my device ruins their wilderness experience, once they learn it's there. And ordinarily they won't, because unless I'm actually looking something up or taking pictures or making notes, it stays put away. Reading on it is by myself, in my tent, so the light from the panel won't bother anyone. (Just as I'd do with a paperback novel and flashlight, back in a bygone time.) I don't see much of a difference, but I recognize that others do, and try not to whip out the phone in front of people who might mind.
In any case, you're not going to put the genie back in the bottle.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Agreed!
Personally, I like books that don't need to be recharged. And my old eyes and fumbling fingers struggle with small touchscreens. But I certainly can recognize what a versatile multi-use device a smartphone can be. It can take the place of a lot of other things, reducing weight and bulk. As with so many things, HYOH.
In a group hiking setting, it is disappointing to see so many with their eyes aimed down at their phone rather than out at the view or at their fellow hikers in conversation. They are designed to get our attention and not yield it. I mean this literally ... they really are designed to produce the results we see in terms of "bowing heads in iPrayer". IMO it's wise to be mindful of how these devices affect you and whether that's the person you want to be on the trail. If so, fine - HYOH. But if not, well, reconsider what you bring and when you pull it out.
One of the strongest advocates of phone-free trails I ever met was in his early 30s.