Kerasote's paddling partner actually placed a call on the satphone from the canoe...to tell a buddy in Montana about a gyrfalcon they were at that moment watching up on a cliff. Amazing.  Forget the cost, I just think this kind of wilderness play by play is ridiculous.  Snap a photo. Record the experience in your journal later. Calling someone to describe it? Brutal.

Kerasote also reports that although his partner would usually wait until he was out of ear shot to use the phone, he could actually here his voice at great distances...which also troubled him.

The Beaver

Sounds like an interesting read. Personally I wouldn't want to deny someone a sat phone if it made them more comfortable but using it daily to contact multiple people would just drive me insane.  Of course I'm not the easiest person to get along with and I like to know who I am canoeing with especially if we are going to be close for several days.  I can take anything for a day (at least I think so) but I like to try out short trips with people before I commit to overnighters and weeks at a time, well thats another story. I think somewhere along the trip that phone would have disappeared only to be miraculously found upon return to civilization.

I think that using a phone in that manner on a wilderness trip is a great imposition on others in the party unless discussed in great detail long before the trip.

Just finished a pretty good read (Out There: In the Wild In A Wired Age: Ted Kerasote).

The premise is two men paddling the Horton River watershed in the Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean. The twist-- Kerasote's paddling partner insists on bringing a Satellite phone...and using it nearly daily to stay in touch with his family (including his sisters ?!?) and office.

The central question that gnaws at Kerasote is the contemplation and definition of solitude in a world where technology is ever encroaching.

Given the chatter around these parts I thought some QJers would find the book interesting.

Besides the presence of the SatPhone I was amazed at the amount of gear and food (lots) these experienced paddlers hauled with them.  They pretty much stayed on the river and didn't have to portage...but still....amazing. To each his own...

The Beaver