I agree, Mouse. I’ve been reading Laura and Guy Waterman’s books, Wilderness Ethics and The Green Guide to Low-Impact Hiking and Camping, and this is a hugely important point that too many people tend to forget.

One of the things we go out for is to connect with wilderness (or at least a sense of wildness.) I don’t necessarily mean danger, just a sense that this area we are in temporarily has not been subjected to the will of man, that it remains “uncivilized”, and that we have to accept it on its own terms.

Apps, music, and other intrusive technologies that bring “civilization” with us into these areas directly attacks that sense of wild. The fact that they create a “safety net,” even if you intend not to use it, degrades the experience. I agree with that. That doesn’t mean you have to. But it does mean that your right to believe that it’s OK ends where it intrudes, from whatever distance, on my right to accept the wild on its own terms. It also means that, if you can’t tolerate accepting the wild on its own terms, you may be better off staying home - or in the car campground.

In their books, the Watermans quote a report from Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board: “ ‘Gadgets’ are bad if their purpose is to serve as a substitute for skill and knowledge. As the skill level of the sportsperson increases, then the reliance on gadgetry should decrease.” I think that sums it up just about as well as anything I’ve seen.

By the way, I highly recommend those books. I don’t agree with them 100%, but they make me think, long and hard, about how I choose to connect with the areas I visit. And that’s never bad.