Did you ever go into the wilderness without any communication device?

Just curious. I lived in the city all my life. For the last for month I didn't leave the boundary office-gym-home. What's it's life to go out there for a week, without a phone or laptop.Did you ever go into the wilderness without any communication device?
hell didnt have phone or computer till dec 08// after wreck an house bound,healin up things to addictive stayed on for 4 wks straight//weaning off now,as mobile again// still look in evening,,,, were not wildernes just country twixt towers,, well water an septic,,, you dont know what youve missed
oh heaven. nature, birds, flies (could do without them) mossies (same as flies) the smell of the pure outback and totally fresh fresh air without pollutants, the smell of an open camp fire. the clear skies full of stars at night etc. i could go on and on.



sadly a bit old to go camping these days but my son has a 5 acre property where i love to go and chill out but unfortunately you can still hear cars and the usual tv, but no phone but i take my mobile. sad isn't it that we have become so reliant on technology.



thanks for the memories.Did you ever go into the wilderness without any communication device?
Absolute heaven!! Peace, quiet, no stress.....need I say more.



Seriously - that's the way we used to do it when I was young - there WERE no mobile phones or laptops, and we survived. I think technology has really taken over I lives and I don't like it. Everyone expects an instant response - they were the days when we wrote letters.
Living in the 24/7 cell phone, blue tooth, GPS mounted in the BMW, laptop humming away on the car seat area of California, I make it a point to get OUT of that mode regularly. Even if it's just for a little while.



Wilderness hiking in the foothills or mountains, 4-5 days of kayak camping, backpacking a remote trail - are all necessary if you ask me. Not only do I not TAKE the phone, I go places where even if you had it, there would be no service.



The whole idea that we have too much connectivity, too much concrete around us, too many "things" isn't a new one. As the industrial revolution sprang forward, plenty of people rose the flag of caution to the road our culture was headed down.



I think people have an innate need to live or be in nature on some level (even those people that would disagree at first). I've never seen a person step to the lookouts of the Grand Canyon and say it wasn't inspiring.



What's it like to chuck it all for just a little while? It's completely liberating to tell the "world" as we know it to step off. You really ought to try it sometime. You get a glimpse, just for a moment, of how life really ought to be. The only communication you need to have is with people who are right in front of you and nature. Sun, rain, wind, cold, snow, all take on a new meaning. You can't just run inside, hide, and flip a switch to make it all better. You have to live it. It's the real world.
many times, very peaceful to know you won't get a random call for work, etc lol
I live in the middle of a wilderness area. All my life I've lived in very rural areas and now I live on a private parcel in the middle of 14,000+acres of a public use wilderness area. Even so, this is the closest I've ever lived to a city. I've commuted in the past to work over an hour, 1 way...but here, I own a small business and rarely get out much. The cell coverage is hit or miss here and the internet is via satellite. To get away from the phone, I simply walk out the door. During the winter I can step outside and get trapped in the stillness of the outdoors. In the summer, city tourist like yourself, flood my small mountain cove to take advantage of hiking trails, river activities, and the simple pleasure of being away from city lights. Being away from it all is how I've spent most of my 30+ years on this world. I've traveled to many major cities abroad, but away from it all is where I want my home. I'm just the opposite from yourself, I live in the Wilderness and occasionally spend a week in a place like....last two trips...Washington DC, Las Vegas.
I never bring a cell phone or "satellite phone" when I am by myself or a group of friends, mainly because sat. phones are super expensive and cell phones usually don't work. In many cases a cell phone gives a person a false sense of security since many people have not been out of cell phone range for more than a couple of hours, many city ppl never have been out of cell phone range longer than their subway ride.



I do however carry emergency signal devices- Signal Mirror, a Whistle, fire starters- which work way better than a dead cell phone or one with no service.
Man I grew up like that and still do it all the time

Heavan Forebide the indivual to call me out camping or fishing they will find out my phone is OFF.
That is the only way to truly enjoy the great outdoors. Leave all the beeping ringing keyboard clicking stuff at home and enjoy the simple pleasures of nature.
I a teen and am surrounded by technology. That and the always going nature of American society makes it really good to just slow down sometimes and relax. Of course I have a naturally laid back attitude. There was actually a book written about getting away from technology where he asks why people say the modern world is the real world, when nature was there first and technology came after and pushed it away.
I have only carried a cell phone for the past 5 years,I have only learned how to use a computer in the last 2 years. I do this because of my work.Prior to this, I never knew that people traveled everywhere with a connection to the out side.Since I've been doing this, I realized the felt security it gives one to always have a back up. So, I understand a little what you are feeling.But I am in the security business and know better than most it is a false sense of security.When I lived out there I never thought about what if, I felt if all went to hell..then I was going to die where I loved to be....some times I have to remind my self these days, When it's time to die....I will die, and be satisfied with that.
I always carry my hollowed out log for drumming out signals to my tribe, if beyond sound range I can always start a smoke fire, In some places we have large ringing rocks that when hit hard enough we can reach out and touch some one. I have come across many text and pic messages left by previous parties but the delete button doesn't work so well. And a good yodel is always nice to share so no phone is ever really needed.
I camp every fall where my cell phone doesnt work and its great. Solitude and nature. Tune into the wilds and woods and forget the rat race........
S#!t...my cell phone barely has any coverage where I live. Going into the mountains without a "lifeline" to the outside world is pretty normal for me. I lead hikes and kayaking trips for a living and most of the places I go, cell phones don't work to begin with. So mine stays safe and sound in the truck at the trailhead or launch point.



The best thing to do is leave a detailed plan of where you are going and a specific time of return. If something happens to you at least they'll know where to look for you. Go with a group of people so if problems do occur some of you can go for help while the others stay with the hurt person. If you get lost, stay where you are and light a fire. Someone will find you if people know you are lost.



If you plan ahead and are well prepared for your trip, you shouldn't have the need for the cell phone to begin with.
Its hard to explain the solitude, peace, enjoyment and freedom of the wilderness. Where I live in south east Alaska there are places you cant pick up a thing on a cell phone, FM or AM radio or even on CB (citizens band) or TV. The reason is its remoteness and the tall mountains all around you. There are places here a compass just spins in circles from magnetic deposits. And fiords and valleys so deep a GPS wont pick up enough satellites for a way point.

You will not see a human for weeks or months. The only sign of man is a commercial airliner flying over at 30,000 ft now and then or the glimmer of a satellite at night. Because there isn鈥檛 any man made lights the sky at night is awesome! Its like you can reach out and almost touch the milky way galaxy.



In remote wilderness animals don鈥檛 know what you are in some places. I have had animals walk up to me to check me out and then went about their day in no alarm. Birds will land on branches next to you and sing at arms length if you move about quietly and slowly.

After about 2 week your ears open up and you can begin to hear things you didn鈥檛 before and your sense of smell improves. You eyes adjust to pick up movement you missed before and you can see better at night. Your body is shedding the effects of the city and your becoming one with nature. This is a good thing and a bad thing because there ar things that will eat you. So you have to learn to be alert like the animals.

There is no one to help you if you get hurt, you have to really think least get carried away in a fast stream of slip off a steep slope or trip and fall breaking a bone. Little things can kill you here, exposure, insects, and infected cut, or small animal bite.

But I have to say it鈥檚 the most joyous time of my life!

Warning! Every now and then people DIE from lack of experience in the wilderness. For some one conditioned to the city the wilderness can seem a vast harmless world, but its not! I am sad to hear of the deaths here in Alaska every year and some of them are experienced woodsmen and women.

So before you go read all you can bout it. Tom Brown has some good books on wilderness survival. And there is a slew of web sites on this subject. Go prepared, tell people where your going and when you will be back. Bring a companion and the proper gear. Done right its fun done wrong and its misserble. You don鈥檛 want to get soaking wet in the rain, sleep in a leaky tent in a cheap thin sleeping bag near a river full of dense clouds of biting flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums and the neighborhood brown bears looking for a meal!



Here is a link of a friends about my area of Alaska, this area borders some of the most remote areas in North America and is near Glacier Bay Alaska.

http://www.geocities.com/cobra1618/Alask鈥?/a>

Here some info on this area;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_Bay鈥?/a>

Here is more photos of this area;

http://www.nps.gov/glba/photosmultimedia鈥?/a>



I truly feel sorry for those who haven鈥檛 experienced real remote wilderness. State parks and National parks in the lower 48 are many times crowded and its difficult to find real seclusion. When I say remote I mean you can hike for days and never see a building, road or any sign of man. Places like that are getting harder to find. But do yourself a favor and experience it at least once while you鈥檙e young.

You will love it!
As like everyone else has already said that it is so peaceful not having the phone, computer etc..the technology's these days makes it to wear some younger generation of people will most likely never experience camping without all the wireless electronics, cell phones, laptops, portable video games, portable dvd players. Some area's you may not be able to use half the stuff, but my thing is you go away, stay in the mountains in your tent or trailer, what ever you prefer, be one with nature. Leave all the stress and everything else that goes on with everyday life. You can survive with out cell phones, etc..I have done it many years, and so have alot of other people.
it is the best thing ever...i go camping about 15 times a year and it is the highlight of my life it is so peaceful when u are out the sitting around the campfire eating smores drinking beer and especially fun drinking beer and fishing not having a care in the world for those few days you definitely need to go camping to relax