I think I really like the idea of being able to go somewhere and not be bothered with the worldly problems - whether it's things in the news or closer to home with work or even family gossip.  The idea is to get away and push all that stuff out of my mind for awhile.

Going to the BW and QWuetico was perfect for that until the time I took my brother and his 2 teenage sons for their first ever camping and canoeing trip.  We were camped on North Bay of Quetico and my brother had his cell phone with.  I told him not to bother that there would be no reception.  Then one evening he got a text reply from his wife.  He decided to call and got through!  Suddenly there she was on speaker phone and the kids were telling her about the trip.  They were laughing and it was great.  But I was extremely annoyed.  Now we could be reached by the outside.  The escape to nature was broken by technology.  It was very weird hearing a voice on a cellphone in Quetico.

I still have a choice and the freedom to take what I want on a trip.  I can go solo with nothing more than a map if I choose.  I've been wanting to try that sometime if not just to get me back to how I felt on these trips in the 80's and 90's.  I was able to push all concerns out of my brain and just live on the trails.

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.

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.

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! 

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.