Very true, but for some the gear is the destination. I'm partially guilty of that myself and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. We all have our own reasons for going out there.

Still, my gear remains a means to a goal. And yes, sometimes gear can become a barrier between a person and the environment he came to see. I saw an extreme case of that a few weeks ago in Yosemite. Giant motorhomes parked for days, their occupants never to be seen outside. Their evening "campfires" were the glow of televisions. Kind of sad, I thought.