Wolfgang wrote:
"Ken Fortenberry" wrote:

Really, if you think you need all the latest electronic doodads and
accoutrements to take a trip into the backcountry you probably don't
have the skills to be out there in the first place.

Everybody has his or her own comfort level. John Muir used to go on
thousand mile hikes carrying nothing but a bag of bread and tea (he
would roll the sack down a mountain ahead of him to bust up the bread
so that it could be chewed). On one occasion he hopped up and down
all night on a glacier to keep from freezing to death, rather than
risk trying to traverse it in the dark. On another (presumably in
Yellowstone), he and a companion spent a night rolling over and over
in some sort of hot spring or mud pot, alternately boiling on one side
and freezing on the other. I don't recall ever coming across a
reference to how he felt about other people's outfits, but one can
easily imagine him saying that anyone who needs all the latest doodads
and accouterments like sleeping bags and tents probably doesn't have
the skills to be out there in the first place.

One could argue that anyone unprepared for cold weather on a glacier
or atop Mt. Shasta in May probably didn't have the skills to be out
there in the first place. That he somehow managed to survive is both
lucky and moot.

Electronics are a somewhat different case than adequate clothing and
shelter. Being comfortable enough not to *require* electronics in the
backcountry is essential because while electronics can come in handy
you should be savvy enough to get along without them should they fail.
Being "comfortable" enough to venture off into the backcountry without
adequate clothing and shelter is just plain stupid.

With all due apologies to John Muir. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry