What happen to our adventure spirit?
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:20 pm
Dictionaries description of Adventure:
noun
1. an exciting or very unusual experience.
2. participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.
3. a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.
4. a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.
verb (used with object), adventured, adventuring.
5. to risk or hazard.
6. to take the chance of; dare.
7. to venture to say or utter:
to adventure an opinion.
verb (used without object), adventured, adventuring.
8. to take the risk involved.
9. to venture; hazard.
Has modern civilization, and the technical advancements in communications, become a detriment, or even hindrance, to our experiencing the true adventure spirit? Have we just become soft compared to previous generations? We used to go out as children and play for hours, till sundown many times, play multiple sports, be in a boy/girl scout troop, that would go to the Sierra for several trips each season, now many do not even play sports, only play stations or x-boxes, why?
Web, gps, google earth, guide books, and maps, does it not seem like their is just an information overload? Seem like more, and more of us, going to the back country, bring our front country thinking or ways, and apply it to our back country experience, kind of a buffer, or layer of security, that prevents us front just letting go, and being able to be free, and uninhibited in the wild.
I understand that their are some people who enjoy plotting out their routes, but some plot their route down to every foot, and some even get
perturbed, if they get from point A to point B, 10 sec later then had they calculated.
Do we really need to have every inch of a class 2 pass described, down to the minute detail, with photo's included from every angle, again, to me, this seems like information overload, and dampens what the spirit of adventure means. If there is a difficult section, a cliff for example, on a class 2 or 3 route that one could experience, if accidentally going off-route, then bringing this section to ones attention is definitely warranted for safety reason, but that is it, let them learn and experience the thrill of the wild. (Also is recommended, if someone is doing their first or second x-country pass)
Have we become risk averse? Do we need a road, sign, detailed map, google map, google earth , and the most up to date tech gear available for everything? Where is the thrill in all that? Are all the comforts of the front country keeping us from experiencing the true wilderness experience, where one feels as part of the wild?
Please do not misunderstand, I am in no way advocating senseless, or mindless undertakings of back country travel here, but once we have learned, and gained, a good foundation of the essentials of outdoor travel and survival, why not let go, experience the thrill, the excitement that our wonderful and thrilling outdoor recreation activity offers?
noun
1. an exciting or very unusual experience.
2. participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.
3. a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.
4. a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.
verb (used with object), adventured, adventuring.
5. to risk or hazard.
6. to take the chance of; dare.
7. to venture to say or utter:
to adventure an opinion.
verb (used without object), adventured, adventuring.
8. to take the risk involved.
9. to venture; hazard.
Has modern civilization, and the technical advancements in communications, become a detriment, or even hindrance, to our experiencing the true adventure spirit? Have we just become soft compared to previous generations? We used to go out as children and play for hours, till sundown many times, play multiple sports, be in a boy/girl scout troop, that would go to the Sierra for several trips each season, now many do not even play sports, only play stations or x-boxes, why?
Web, gps, google earth, guide books, and maps, does it not seem like their is just an information overload? Seem like more, and more of us, going to the back country, bring our front country thinking or ways, and apply it to our back country experience, kind of a buffer, or layer of security, that prevents us front just letting go, and being able to be free, and uninhibited in the wild.
I understand that their are some people who enjoy plotting out their routes, but some plot their route down to every foot, and some even get
perturbed, if they get from point A to point B, 10 sec later then had they calculated.
Do we really need to have every inch of a class 2 pass described, down to the minute detail, with photo's included from every angle, again, to me, this seems like information overload, and dampens what the spirit of adventure means. If there is a difficult section, a cliff for example, on a class 2 or 3 route that one could experience, if accidentally going off-route, then bringing this section to ones attention is definitely warranted for safety reason, but that is it, let them learn and experience the thrill of the wild. (Also is recommended, if someone is doing their first or second x-country pass)
Have we become risk averse? Do we need a road, sign, detailed map, google map, google earth , and the most up to date tech gear available for everything? Where is the thrill in all that? Are all the comforts of the front country keeping us from experiencing the true wilderness experience, where one feels as part of the wild?
Please do not misunderstand, I am in no way advocating senseless, or mindless undertakings of back country travel here, but once we have learned, and gained, a good foundation of the essentials of outdoor travel and survival, why not let go, experience the thrill, the excitement that our wonderful and thrilling outdoor recreation activity offers?