[at-l] Re: Modern Devices, etc.

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C.)]

It seems to me that if one is going to the trouble of walking 2,170 miles, one
would be wise to achieve as much as possible of all that the walk can offer.

I have found that among the more valuable things that the trail provides is a
sense of remoteness and wildness, attributes that are lost when one carries the
means of instant communication with the civilized world.

Therefore I choose not to carry such devices, and resent it when others through
their carrying intrude on my sense of remoteness and wildness.

The issue really gets down to why one walks in the woods. If it is only to have
achieved a walk in the woods, carry whatever makes that achievement as easy as
possible. If, on the other hand, one seeks to savor the woods and hills, one
should not carry things that damage some of the best that the woods and hills
have to offer.

Weary