I sat down on a rock overlooking the Delaware Water Gap, buzzards and hawks catching thermals and spiraling up right in front. And I reached into my backpack and pulled out the iPhone. Within a couple of minutes, I was reading about black racer snakes on Wikipedia. Nope, not venomous. They eat crickets, moths and small rodents. And they are fast. Tess and Tucker took turns looking for other pictures, and we pretty much confirmed what we had seen. We were learning on the fly. And then, we zoomed in on where we found it using the satellite feature on Google Maps which the iPhone makes really easy.

@ Weblogg-ed

As much as my own preference is for electronics-free hiking (flashlights conveniently excluded!),^* that’s a romantic impulse more than a moral decision — the world feels quieter without an iPod or phone, and I have less to carry. But what this quote makes explicit is the projection of the “built” world onto the natural: even if we leave our phones home, we still see the forest through eyes, ears, and minds familiar with phones, Google mapping, etc. Whether you make a mental note to go online later and look up a species of snake, or do so immediately, the existence of the web informs your thoughts either way. And in earlier years the forest was seen through awareness of steamboats and blackpowder rifles. There is no pure state of engagement, only a changing projection.

^* Though this will likely change now that my hiking and camping will be done with a child to mind and keep safe.