I was flipping through some older MacWorld articles last week and came across one from mid-July entitled “iPods in the Woods“. I don’t even know where to begin. Is there no place we can escape the over-worked, over-tired, and over-budget lives Americans are caught up living? I want my hikes, rides, and camping trips to be what they were meant to be: peace and quiet; an escape from people, traffic, and long lines. Certainly not a continuation of the craziness with more trees.

Next time I’m in the Sierra Nevadas, I’ll be steering clear of Stanislaus National Forest and The Lair of the Golden Bear, the California Alumni Association’s summer family camp. Jason Snell, the author of the article, sums this hideousness up in two sentences.

“If I had to estimate, I’d say that there was at least one iPod in every single tent cabin at the Lair. As I walked through camp, I was never out of hearing distance of someone’s iPod.”Jason Snell

Can you imagine any place worse? The sounds of “I’m not quite sure what” replacing — and scaring off — every sound nature has to offer. I was pissed eight years ago at the top of Dragon’s Tooth, a big rock atop a 3000′ stop on the AT near where I went to school, when someone snuck up behind me with a ringing cell phone. That was before iPods, but not before cell phones. Damn the ever-reaching scope of cell coverage.

If I can pass on one tiny shred of advice for any peace-and-quiet seeker: go to Africa and hunt for a remote bush camp.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 10 am and is filed under health, life, markhealey, me, people, space, travel.