Originally Posted by
Champlain Islander
So I think we are all in agreement that technology isn't the enemy. Coupling that with practical experience and common sense makes for a better mousetrap. Some people embrace change while others don't. I guess if this thread accomplishes anything it will be to give people unacquainted with the old school basics a hint that they should learn about them just in case the technology fails. Dead batteries or falling and breaking the unit whether it is a GPS or smart phone could prove disastrous especially when one is in a wilderness or big woods setting and a storm hits blocking out reference to the sun. On the flip side for those who hold onto the old ways change often comes hard. Trying something new might open some new opportunity and enhance the experience. When we first started our cross country elk hunting trips we relied on an atlas with mixed success. Along came the garmin and life got much easier. But....we still keep the atlas in the map pocket behind the seat.
I have a few years on me, but I'm not opposed to new technology. I have a smart phone with Outlook. I can set an appointment or read and answer an email wherever I have access to Wi-Fi. All the courthouses have it. When I enter an email or appointment on phone or computer it appears on phone and both computers immediately.
When the GPS stuff first came out, I thought cool, and bought one. Tried it on the U.P. Nothing. Turns out it can't see the satellites through the trees. Put it away and haven't seen it since. For all I know, the technology may have improved though.
sachiko had to take the hunter safety course to get her license. I took it with her for snicks. In one of the classes, they had us form teams of two. She and I were a team of course. They issued each team a map and a lensatic compass. You had to navigate (navigate?) through the woods from point A to point B to point C and back to point A. No technology allowed. They explained that a phone or GPS is a fine and dandy thing, but batteries can go dead, ;and chips can die, and electronics can get wet. And then how are you gonna find your way back? I didn't help sachiko, by the way. But she completed the task way ahead of everyone else.