subject: Wireless Internet Makes Life of the Outdoorsman More Accessible [print this page] When most people think of the changes that wireless Internet has brought upon Western civilization, they imagine precocious teenagers updating their Facebook statuses in between class, or slick business professionals sending memos with their 4G phones, or well-paid Silicon Valley nerds dreaming up the newest gadget will sipping on a cup of joe from their office's new espresso machine. This brave new world is based on speed, modernity, and convenience, wresting humankind out of the inefficiencies and geography-bound customs of the past.
What people do not imagine when thinking of 21st century technology, most likely, is a bunch of guys in flannel pitching a tent or building a fire, or compressing a wound sustained during a hike with a piecemeal tourniquet. These rustic images either lead one to think of the days of yore, like pioneers on the Oregon trail facing the wilderness, or naturalist hippie types who eschew the pace and the mores of mainstream culture. Or maybe, more benignly, these flannel-clad woods dwellers are simply city slickers on vacation, enjoying a few days outside of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Regardless, this latter image certainly does not make one thing of wireless Internet people went camping and lived in the woods long before you could check your email 35 times a day. Heck, 30 years ago, there wasn't even email to check!
But these days, almost everyone in the United States has access to wireless Internet. This means that even those who think of themselves as too cool for mainstream society will likely have cell phones, social networking pages, laptops, MP3 players, and email addresses. Instead, they are utilizing these gadgets and technologies to their advantage. Instead of using their mobile broadband to trade stocks, they use it to research trekking trails in the region, or to research an antidote to a wasp sting, or to learn how to sharpen a knife with a stone. The log on to find once hard-to-procure supplies, such as water purifying tablets or long underwear or a new tent. No longer do they have to make a long trek out to a sporting goods store and pay outrageous prices. They can order them right from their cell phones, and have the cargo show up right on their front door steps. They can look for deals, sales, or even used gear, which will help them save up for the next thermal sleeping bag or dispenser of bear spray, or to pay for the gas to get all the way to Yellowstone next summer.
What's more, outdoorsy types can network with likeminded people. Say a transplanted Coloradan finds himself in grad school in Boston, unable to relate to the city dwellers he has been meeting at his university. He now has a number of recourses for finding like-minded individuals, whether joining local forms or message boards, posting ads for activity partners, or using online friend and dating sites to find people with similar interests. Before long, he will be hiking in the Berkshires with his new best friends.
Wireless Internet Makes Life of the Outdoorsman More Accessible
