Great topic! Technology is such a double-edged sword and sometimes difficult to define much less avoid.  My canoe is a feat of technology that allows me to travel farther and faster than an aluminum one.  So, I'm certainly guilty of relying on technology.
However, all my life I've preferred to learn by doing and experimenting.  The process of discovery, failure, success and honing my skills is a huge part of the adventure.   Experiencing that process together with a partner or partners creates connection that can't be put into words.  I'm often dismayed at the amount of information and specifically intel about wild places posted via social media and choose to ignore it as much as possible.  It's like a reading a movie review with spoilers.   
I like simple, and I want to blend into the fabric of the wilderness as much as I can so less technology is more for me.  No go pro, no fancy digital SLR, no GPS, no radio and now also no depth finder.  I'd rather not bring the InReach, and that will probably be next.
With every trip, I look for places to explore that I haven't heard anything about and find new campsites to experience on my own.  I don't need or want a 5 star campsite every night.  I learn a lake based on "feel" and discover good fishing spots on my own.   As time has gone on I'm re-discovering what adventure is.

My max group size is four.. My usual is one. I take a Spot and a camera, lately a weather radio (only gets weather forecast). Spot frees my solo travel from an itinerary. I usually have a rough idea of where I'm headed but I often change it radically on a whim.

I've made five Quetico trips and readying for my sixth. A digital camera is the only electronic device I take into the park. We use maps and a compass to navigate.

Like many here, I look forward to being "unplugged" and in nature. I'm often the butt of camp jokes because I select a site that is removed from my fellow campers. I've told them all, "I didn't drive 1000 miles and paddle 25 more to pitch my tent right next to yours!!" 

I have never and probably will never take a fish finder in. I have so far resisted all attempts to get me to take a Sat phone or a tracking device. I understand those who elect to take these kinds of things.

I do a good bit of research though before we go. My groups are usually 6-8 in number, and I feel the burden to have camp sites prepared and alternates selected if they are taken. If the groups were smaller, I'd freewheel it.

Yeah she just turned 8. I wonder how many trips she has left... so far she’s in great health. We play frisbee most evenings in the park and she’s still awesome. Yesterday she blew my mind with this one catch she made. 

As long as you have your best gal LUNA along you've got all you need. Your solo PLUS one. 

This all started with me most likely just being nostalgic.  I loved 1980's Ely and Grand Marais.  Aluminum tanks strapped on the cars parked at the curbs.  It was just so cool for a young suburban kid like me. 

I think we have lost that sense of excitement when we get to instantly know everything about a place just with google.  The sense of wonder and discovery has taken a back seat in many areas of life over the last 20 years or so.

So yeah, I'm nostalgic.  My goal is to do a trip with no radio or go pro this year. My only electronics will be a small digital camera and depth finder.  Sometime in the future I want to go with only an in reach mini and no other electronics.  Woah!  Maybe next year.

I still have my old canon film SLR camera.  Maybe get some slide film and really old school it! 

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I said that because we have guests/new members that ask questions about a particular route etc.

You give them a reference like Paddle Planner or refer to the Trip Report archive and 2 things happen usually.

One is they THANK YOU for the info, the other is they NEVER post again about it. Those are the people that want others to do the leg work/sweat equity FOR them.

I'm willing to help anyone but I'm NOT doing ALL the work for them.

a few points to add here.

1. This discussion has mentioned a number of distinctly different tools.  Not all our values are the same for these "tool systems".  By tool systems I mean tools for: comfort, navigation, safety, connectivity(phones/radios -- but SPOT falls under safety).  I submit it is entirely appropriate to view connectivity tools differently than safety tools.

2. Do not confuse the mechanism with its effectiveness. In TomT oirignal post, he said " I can remember getting into Ely in the 80's or 90's and buying a local paper just to have the latest weather forecast before my put in the next day.  I remember closely reading the few books available for any reference to decent campsites."  In other words, he used the best tools to get as much information as possible.  The information he got was orders of magnitude better than what someone 200 years earlier could have used.  It is also order of magnitude less than what one can get now.  The problem is not technology. The issue is for a tool system, does getting the best available information not the ideal.  (My personal preference for connectivity is that is a tool system I do not want at all.  Not a cell phone, not a radio, not smoke signals, not a conversation with a passerby.  One of the pleasures for me of such a trip is to leave the "real world" behind. But for safety, I want the most cost-effective tool available.  Certainly I want something better than smoke signals.  With increasing risk from age and with lower prices now, something like SPOT is now cost-effective.   

3. With respect to navigation, ST commented "I do that on purpose so people can invest a little sweat equity finding them" and "There is something real/tangible and to me satisfying looking over a well used paper map".  I react differently.  Again technology is not a villain here.  The question is do you want mroe information if it is available.  I do.  I do not settle for one map, I want as many maps as I can get.  I want input from other trippers. I want digital maps. I too like paper maps.  To me digital maps are just as real and tangible as paper, just a different medium.  And do not talk to me about sweat equity, at least as I define sweat equity.  One of the joys of all these tools is you can use them before and after your trip.  I put in hours upon hours of planning (as many of you do) before a trip.  That extends the length of the trip significantly because those hours become part of the trip experience.  Using a variety of tools  provides a wider pallette to that trip extension.  And once on the trip, just because the tools gives lots of information, that does not mean one has to become a slave to it.  More information does not preclude exploration, be it out of curiousity or necessity.

Now that I have somewhat demonized digital technology, the truth is I do lean on it as well.  I love all of my old Fisher maps, with the years of mark-ups.   I still have and use some of the old waterproof crinkly  paper versions.  I always navigate by map and compass, but......I did buy Quetico GPS mapping software for a backpacking GPS that I already owned.   I have only taken it on my few solo trips, and have never needed to use it, but it gives me some peace of mind.  Yes, I know, I am a hypocrite.

MossBack

I just took my 23 year old nephew on his fist BW trip. I carried a inReach for the first time to check in for my sisters benefit. My nephew brought his cell phone even after I told him there would be no service. Little did I know that whenever we were not fishing he would put in ear buds and be either listening to music or playing video games. I was so bummed that he couldn’t unplug and enjoy the wilderness with me. Even when we were sitting by the fire and I got him to put it away he kept asking if I wanted to listen to music. I guess it’s this new generation,I don’t get it.