I can tell by most of the responses that a big part of my concern is no being addressed so I'll explain further. My wife has been tripping out of a canoe longer than I, some 40 years. She introduced me to canoe country in 1977. She absolutely knows what it's all about. She does not really have anxiety about my safety although that is surely part of it. She is concerned about the practical aspect of a lost or missing person. A situation that can be almost entirely avoided by using the tools that are available today.
Think about it you preserve your sense of adventure and gone off alone into the wilderness with no means to reach anyone. You become lost, injured or dead. Now you have unfairly burdened your loved ones with the avoidable anxiety of a search and rescue. When do you call it off - who decides? When do you give up hope? You have possibly deprived the people you love the most with the answers they desire for proper closure.

All of the most serious adventures (Everest climbers radio relays, around the world sailors, spelunkers etc.)taking place today use ALL of the tools available to them to ensure a rescue if things go badly. Are those not adventures then?