Podcast 112 | The Analog Backcountry Experience

I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, as my exploration of the backcountry began well before the age of handheld electronics (mostly). I still have my Silva Ranger 15t compass (although it seems to have lost most of its fluid), and recall spending hours drawing magnetic declination lines on old topos, some based on early 1900s data, and how to quickly use them.

I’ve been using the Field Notes notebooks for years, but haven’t yet found a workable way to use the waterproof ones–my ink always seems to smear, although I haven’t tried Ryan’s space pen.

I used to get held hostage by the “tyranny of the camera” Colin Fletcher wrote so eloquently about. I rarely bring a camera aside from the smart phone, and even then I now resist the urge to fully document everything I see or experience. Sometimes it’s better just to concentrate on remembering a scene, or location; sometimes writing notes I may read decades later is more enjoyable than snapping a series of photos.

Anyway, a vote for digital detoxing. When you can.

A great podcast. Ryan! my friends and I used to have a little ceremony when we would start a trip into the wilderness, which was to take our watches off and leave them behind.  I just did my first long trip using digital technology a couple of months ago. I think I’ll go back to analog. My one question for you is when you are doing an analog trip do you still use a satellite messenger?

No watch?
But how would I know when it is time for 10 am coffee?

Anyhow, a lot of the time I am navigating while moving using watch and sun, rather than stopping to let the compass settle.

Definitely, HYOH
Cheers