[at-l] Re: A different view of the C-word thingy

[Phillips <gammara1@mediaone.net>]

Jim- one of the reasons I enjoy this list is that many of the responses such
as yours are well thought out and interesting.
as to your points-
1) the inuit were our guides, and they are most fascinating people. for all
their survival skills and abilities, they like to stay in touch with home,
even when on the ice. but you are quite correct in your assumptions,.
2)as a youth i have done " ultimate camping" ie i used to go live in a snow
hut with out a sleeping bag about 100 miles north of montreal in february. my
parents thought i was psychotic, and in retrospect i now agree. i has some
very unpleasant experiences like my boots freezing on my feet, and i now enjoy
my comforts- a sleeping matt, a bag, a head lamp, a stove- ive done it the
other way- it sucks.
3) the fear factor is definitely there. i like the escape but i have a huge
practice and responsiblity to worry about- back home.perhapswhen i retire if i
can figure out how to pacify my wife i will thru hike- and without a phone.
for now it will stay at the bottom of my pack, and will be used with
consideration, so as not to disturb anothers sense of tranquility.
4) mostly i think the readers and posters on this list are a group of wise
folks beyond your years, and i am so glad to be even a small part of it- of
course God does irritate the crap out of me!!<vbg> Jim

Owen wrote:

> Phillips wrote:
> >
> > I know this has been debated to death in the past. I carry a small phone
> > in my pack, out of view and out of mind. On a recent trip to Northern
> > Quebec I had to leave it home, because we were out of range. Although it
> > definetely heightened my isolation expereience, it also scared the
> > dickens out of me, in that we were totally cut off from civilization. In
> > the event of a true emergency we were basically screwed! In addition on
> > a trip to the very high arctic, our inuit guides carried a radio that
> > allowed us to check in nightly, so whats the beef about carrying a small
> > phone for emergency use? Why live in the 18th century? Jim
>
> Jim -
> Right up front I'm gonna say that I don't care what anyone else
> carries - those who feel a cell phone is necessary for their mental
> health will carry one regardless of what I think or say anyway.
> I DO care greatly about how they use their cell phone, but we'll
> get to that later.  I'll also say that there's not a lot of heat
> here - I'm really tired from the Gathering and the dragon's asleep.
> But I'll give you my "philosophy" on the subject - for whatever
> it's worth.
>
> So let's get down to what YOU said - although not necessarily in the
> order you said it. First - in all probability your inuit guides carried
> the radio because you were a paying client.  You can correct
> me if I'm wrong there.  Any good guide service WILL carry the best
> communications available because they've assumed a responsibility
> for the lives of their clients and they want all the safeguards they
> can get.  Nothing wrong with that - it's just plain good business.
> But did you ask them if they carry the radio when they go out on
> their own - without the paying clients?  :-)
>
> Secondly, while you might think that cell phone in your pack is out
> of sight and out of mind - it ain't true. It may well be out of
> sight - but it's NEVER out of mind.  If it were there'd be a lot
> less pizza delivered to AT trailheads. :-)
>
> Long ago I expressed the opinion that "ultimate" backpacking would
> be to leave the backpack at home - a la Tom Brown and his winter
> in Yellowstone.  I did this kind of thing when I was a teenager -
> but it's not a reasonable expectation of the average hiker or
> backpacker - or the average thruhiker.  We ALL, even thruhikers
> (at least when we start) stuff our oversized, overweight packs
> with goodies that will make our foray into the "wilderness" as
> much like "home" as possible - within the limitations of our
> ability to carry the weight.  And we do it out of fear.
>
> We carry a tent because we're afraid it'll rain or snow or the
> bugs will be unbearable - or because we don't feel secure without
> those walls (flimsy as they are) to "protect" us from the terrors
> of the night. We carry a water filter because we're afraid of
> getting Giardia or drinking "bad" water.   We carry a sleeping
>  bag and a lot of excess clothing because we're afraid of being
> cold.  We carry much too much food because we're afraid of being
> hungry.  We carry a stove because we're afraid that cold food
> won't sustain us.  We carry the 8 pound arm chair of a pack
> rather than the 4 pound minimal pack because we're afraid of
> being "uncomfortable".  EVERYTHING we carry is linked directly
> to some level of fear.
>
> All that being said - I still carry the tent and stove and
> sleeping bag - and a pack that weighs more than I like. I haven't
> given them up so I'm not gonna condemn others for not doing so.
> There are others who have given up some of those things - like
> water filters, and in at least one case, a sleeping bag. There
> really are different levels of fear - and different ways to
> confront it.
>
> So -- what does this all have to do with cell phones?  I think
> that's obvious - but maybe not.  A cell phone is nothing more
> than an extension of the above logic - it's something that people
> carry out of fear.  In this case, as Jim said, the fear of being
> "totally cut off from civilization" - the fear that "In the event
> of a true emergency we were basically screwed!"
>
> There are several points to be made here - the first is that being
> "in communication" with civilization is NOT the safety net most
> people think it is. Have you read "Into Thin Air"?  How much did
> all that great communications gear help the people on that
> mountain?  In Jim's situation, the utility of a once-a-day-check-in
> in the event of a "real emergency" is severely limited.  If you've
> got a real, live, immediate emergency, it has to be dealt with RIGHT
> NOW - not after the daily check-in.  And that means that the
> knowledge to deal with it has to be available - RIGHT NOW.  It
> means that, radio or no radio, the people who are on the spot have
> to know what to do.   If you think about that for a while, you
> may come to understand that the radio was nothing more than a
> crutch - and a very poor one at that.  Or maybe you'd prefer the
> term "placebo"?
>
> The second point is that it's not technically possible to be
> always "in communication".  The satellite systems aren't in
> operation yet - and even if they were it would take several
> years to work out the bugs and make them operationally reliable.
> Even after that, there are many conditions which will make them
> unreliable for short periods of time. How do I know that? Because
> it's been my business for the last 35 years.
>
> Ground based cell phones have their own problems - expecially
> in remote and/or severe weather areas.  Again - 100% communication
> reliability is a nice goal, but not operationally feasible.  So
> the concept of "always being in touch with civilization" is
> technically incompatible with backpacking - at least anyplace
> that's worth going.
>
> And I haven't even gotten to the reliability of the ground units
> (the cell phones).  Poor maintenance, battery problems, inadequate
> construction for rough conditions - these are only a few of the
> problems inherent to today's cell phones.  But any one of them
> can render a cell phone useless.  And in a "real emergency" even
> the cell phone operator may be rendered "inoperative".
>
> The third point gets back to fear - and it's the real reason
> that I don't - and won't - carry one.  We all carry our gear
> out of some level of "fear".  But there are some of us who have
> made conscious decisions about what level of fear we're willing
> to live with - and how much we're willing to allow it to rule
> our lives.  There have been times when I've not slept at night
> out of doubt and fear at what we intended to do the next day.
> But the bottom line is ALWAYS - what's the worst that could
> happen? And the answer is ALWAYS - we could die. Long ago I
> made the decision (and I think Ginny agrees) that death on the
> trail is far preferable to death in a sterile, impersonal,
> soulless hospital room. And if not carrying a cell phone
> results in my death on the trail, then I'll at least die where
> I want to be. That does NOT mean that I want to die - nor does
> it mean that I don't feel fear.  A man (or woman) who feels
> no fear is either a fool or insane.  But there are those who
> refuse to allow fear to rule their lives. I've found that if I
> fear something - then it's very often something I need to do
> for my own personal growth. And if I don't do it, then it ALWAYS
> comes back to haunt me.
>
> As I said - often - but not always.  The decision that every
> person sometimes has to make is this - Is this thing that I
> fear within my knowledge and capabilities?  The answer is NOT
> always affirmative.  Go with your instincts - but make sure
> it's your instincts and not your fear that you're listening to.
>
> If being "cut off from civilisation" makes you that nervous,
> then maybe you need to think about how you've been convinced that
> that level of contact is necessary.  This is NOT a put-down -
> simply an observation that an increasing segment of the population
> is coming to believe that it's "normal" to be constantly in c
> ommunication with the rest of humanity.  And it's NOT.  What it
> brings to mind for me is not humanity, but the Borg.  Those who are
> Trekkies may understand.
>
> If constant contact with "civilisation" were the norm, then
> Columbus (or his predecessors) would never have discovered America,
> the American West would never have been opened up, the Spaniards
> would all still be in Spain, the Anglos would be overpopulating
> their islands and North America would still belong to the Indians.
> The bottom line is that a great level of nervousness at being "alone"
> or "out of contact" is NOT a racial survival characteristic. If
> it becomes the norm, then mankind will never explore the stars -
> and we'll end up back in the caves.
>
> One last point - I have no desire to go back to the 18th century
> (they didn't have TP - and ice cream was only for the VERY rich).
> But I live in a world of computers and spacecraft and comm
> networks - a world of schedules and deadlines and extreme
> techno-stress.  And I don't need to take that world into the
> backcountry with me - nor do I need to associate with it by
> proxy because someone else brought it with them.  I go out
> there in large part to get away from that world. I won't deny
> others their "right" to take the cell phones, GPS units, etc
> with them -  but I will INSIST that they have the common
> courtesy to use them out of sight and hearing.
>
> I can't make decisions for other people - nor would I if I could.
> I have enough trouble running my own life - I certainly don't want
> to run anyone else's.  Nor am I a judge of anyone else's level
> of fear.  If you feel the need to carry a cell phone, then do so.
> But at least recognize it for what it is - a rubber crutch. And
> have the courtesy to not force it on those who don't want it. I'm
> sure that Jim does - but there are others who don't seem to understand
> courtesy.
>
> For my part, I've done what I can to acquire the knowledge to
> handle the "real emergencies" and I've made conscious and
> deliberate decisions as to the level of fear and the accompanying
> consequences that I'm willing to live with.  And I've drawn the
> line at carrying a cell phone or a GPS unit - except for trail
> mapping and maintenance.  That last caveat is related only to
> the personal safety and well-being of others in a situation which
> maximizes the probability of injury.  One of my fears is putting
> others at risk.
>
> That's my 27 cents - and I'm outta here.  I don't have the time
> or energy to deal with this anymore.
>
> Walk softly,
> Jim

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