By Lindsay Hill
Backcountry Technology: Friend or Foe
It was 6:25am on Sunday morning, the last day of our backcountry expedition. We were surrounded by miles of wet ground as the rain poured down from the grey sky . My peers and I were anxious for breakfast, but to my surprise as I dug through the food bag in search for some grub, I found a bag of soggy Honey Bunches of Oats.
“Adam! Do you see this?! A squirrel got into our food last night!” I told him abruptly showing him the minuscule teeth marks in the side of the bag
“No Lindsay, that can’t be. It must have just gotten caught in the zipper of the black food bag.”
We decided to further investigate the situation and it seemed to be true. We examined the black bag and were not surprised when we found a chew hole in it.
Believe it or not, technology allowed for us to be found in this predicament. Our food was secured in a bear fence that was designed specifically to keep bears out. Any smaller rodents that can fit through the fence got to have a field day with our rations. We were pleased throughout our expedition that we didn’t have to spend precious time searching high and low for that perfect bear hang, however, it’s evident that it as we enjoyed this luxury of technology saving us hard work, the squirrels were equally as appreciative.
Having spent the week being introduced to options and new ways of doing things in the backcountry with technical equipment, I’ve come to the point where I believe that for each new thing that is gained through technology, there is a large component that is lost. Will the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of using the technical devices someday? Perhaps some people will think so, and they will be the people going into the woods carrying only a steri-pen for water purification, while the rest of us bring along the iodine for that “just-in-case” situation. When the pen becomes a nuisance and stops working for one reason or another, they might realize that the battery of their GPS unit became moist in the rain and they don’t understand how to use a good old fashion compass because they have been fully devoted to the satellites in the past. So as I’ve expressed, I feel that certain advances in backcountry equipment can be helpful in some instances, but overall, I feel that being prepared with knowledge and common sense is a must in all situations when entering the wilderness.
Over the past decade, our society has tailored people to feel that they need to have buttons to push or screens to look at. In many cases, children have grown up learning by these new methods and feel more comfortable learning new skills with a device that will do the thinking for them. With that in mind, I feel that the introduction of technology in Adventure Education might put somewhat of a damper on the true meaning of an experience. Sure, these participants may feel better about making a box think for them or sterilizing their water with a UV light, but when it comes down to it, a serious question arises. Will these participants learn the “old fashion” way of surviving in the wilderness if they put all of their attention towards learning how to operate a mechanical device? Perhaps they will, or perhaps not. These luxurious devices can be helpful to have in many cases, but I strongly believe that THEY should be the back up. I feel they should only be used in situations where they are truly found useful by the instructor, not so much the participants.
There are many ethical questions that could arise with the use of technology in backcountry. For example, some people may believe that a bear fence may cause physical and emotional harm to a bear. The action could be considered inhumane when you could simply use some ropes and straightforward ingenuity to create a bear hang. These are the types or issues that Adventure educators will soon be running into as technology continues to inch its way into the hands of many experiential education programs.
Whether you as an instructor feel strongly for or against the use of technology in the adventure education field, the question of safety can play a large part in the decision of whether or not to use it in your program. Say, for instance, your program decides to stick with their roots and bring teenagers into the woods without the use of GPS units, weather radios, or more importantly, satellite phones. One of your participants is severely wounded in the backcountry and suffers harshly from a loss of blood because you were not able to call for a helicopter rescue. Your company is sued for negligence because you could have carried a satellite phone, but chose not to. These are the sort of concerns that we must be aware of.
As I have made very clear, there are many pros and cons to using technology in a wilderness setting while educating people. After having a week in the position of a participant, I found it provoking at times working with these “iffy” devices. There were times when they would work and I was fascinated at how easy it was, and there were others when they did not, and I became frustrated with it. It has been brought to my attention that in the near future, I will be faced with decisions regarding the usage of technology, and I strongly feel that I will be able to make those decisions appropriately when the time comes.
