Starlink and Loss of True Wilderness?

[Fowl Play]

Not sure if everyone's been keeping track of this, but would be curious to get everyone's opinions. I think Starlink is awesome, allowing for high speed internet nearly anywhere with their dish. Opens up allot of doors for people, especially remote communities. Think it's especially awesome that kids around the world are now connected to great online schooling that was never an option to them before! With direct to cell coming soon and increasingly more satellites being launched I do not think we are too far off from literally being able to connect to the internet, anywhere in the world, with our phones. This is a double edge sword for me... I'll love being able to keep my family updated on long trips in the backcountry. Definitely will be safer. BUT I feel like we are also loosing true wilderness. You will never again be able to enter the backcountry and totally be unreachable (unless you choose to). For me, I'll embrace it and welcome it. But... also be a tad sad on what we've lost. What's your thoughts on the matter?

 

[William Sublette]

The wilderness went away in the 1840s

 

[Weldor]

Makes you think, that's for sure. What did outdoorsman do before cell phones. I recall when I was about 15 my father was in Alaska on a brown bear hunt, no comms for a month. Nobody at the time was worried, all went well. Different times I guess.

 

[BugleMeTimber]

I think it really depends on the person. Have starlink for my house which is much better than the previous dish service we had. Already use my inreach to send an update to wife every/every other day while spike camped. Last year I hunted a week with a guy that couldn't go five minutes without being on his cell phone. When he shot his buck instead of celebrating with the camp he spent all night sitting in the truck so he could send pics and update all his social media of his success while his phone was plugged in. My phone stays off and only used for OnX on saved maps. Needless to say, he will not be hunting with me this Fall. Hunting is a time for me to disconnect from the tech world and enjoy the company in front of me.

 

[Rich M]

I’m not grasping your concern. Figuratively - Is it that your wife can call you home no matter where you are?

 

[MuleyFever]

The wilderness isnt lost because someone has a phone its lost when its overrun or altered by people. Its all what you make of it. Like you said, you can choose to leave the tech off. Some people will use their phone and that is good, for them, I guess. Some wont. People enjoy things in different ways.

 

[akcabin]

I bring a phone with me to our cabin when out moose hunting. But it usually stays in the cabin. Service it spotty anyhows. I have been in the woods since a kid and feel comfortable with that. My family bought me a GPS but I don't know how to use it. I just kinda never got into the electronics. Especially when it comes to hunting. I enjoy using my skills. I've been hunting ak for over 40 years and have gotten by fine, mostly. Yeppers I get lost spent nights sleeping under a spruce tree. It's part of the deal. And being out for weeks is a normal thing for me, pretty blessed that way to.
Safety is generally associated with carrying a cell phone or GPS. But they are not reliable to me. I can imagine someone that uses GPS to get them where they are going and it breaks. Could put a bit of panic in you.
I just never started to use the electrical and still ol school with using a compass. Even though I readily admit to being the worst guy in the world when it comes to directions. And regularly find myself asking where am I and which way is north.
Maybe just me, but loss of true wilderness won't be an issue for me. Except if my phone starts ringing while I'm taking a nap at the cabin. Then I'll turn it off

 

[OH_hunter]

Its a double edged sword.. Technology has definitely made the world a smaller place - not always a good thing for sure..

It also can be an enabler in weird ways... In the late 90's I went on a caribou hunt in Alaska. As it is still today, there isn't any cell phone coverage out on the peninsula - which is a good thing in my opinion. I took a Sat phone for emergencies - back then I was more worried about my wife and young children back home than they were for me out hunting. This give me peace of which, while I could have survived without it, was comforting. Towards the end of the hunt I made a phone call to the CIO of a major customer of mine just for the hell of it. She was dumbfounded that I called to check in on them while " in the middle of nowhere". Two months later that company signed a major support contract with me, launching my company to the next level. 20 plus years later, that silly Sat phone call helped me build a successful company that provides me the financial wherewithal to hunt all over the world.

After I made that phone call, I shut it off, threw it in the tent and went back to the wilderness for another week - who would have known....

 

[7mm-08]

This is sort of an existential question - do YOU want wilderness or not? If so, leave all the electronics at home and venture into the wilds without any conduit to the outside world. Or, bring it all with you and be fully connected. I suspect that most of the folks on this forum will operate on the spectrum between those two extremes. I use an inReach that is paired to my phone, which has onX that I use for navigation. I never use cell service, but let my family know I'm alright at a pre-arranged time every day. If I have a hunting companion like BugleMeTimber, I'd hit the "EJECT" button on him as well. The bottom line is that we all have a choice on our connectivity - choose wisely.

 

[MattB]

The thing with technology in this context is that its existence doesn't change a thing, only its utilization does. The thread title includes the word "loss" which is passive or implies some external factor, the OP probably should have used the phrase "giving up" instead.

 

[mtwarden]

Yeah it's coming. Google has already sent out dozens of folks into popular National Parks and Wilderness areas to videotape so folks can get a full "street" view. A buddy of mine in California actually saw a couple of guys with contraptions on their backs and asked what was up- yup hired by Google.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Yikes.

Randy

 

[Deadfall]

Yeah it's coming. Google has already sent out dozens of folks into popular National Parks and Wilderness areas to videotape so folks can get a full "street" view. A buddy of mine in California actually saw a couple of guys with contraptions on their backs and asked what was up- yup hired by Google.

Hmmm...I'll be danged....

 

[7mm-08]

Yeah it's coming. Google has already sent out dozens of folks into popular National Parks and Wilderness areas to videotape so folks can get a full "street" view. A buddy of mine in California actually saw a couple of guys with contraptions on their backs and asked what was up- yup hired by Google.

No so sure I embrace this, but you have to love the big brained innovators who conceptualize these potential markets (and PLEASE don't fool yourself that this is something other than a theory to monetize public ground).

 

[darcytribe]

Yeah it's coming. Google has already sent out dozens of folks into popular National Parks and Wilderness areas to videotape so folks can get a full "street" view. A buddy of mine in California actually saw a couple of guys with contraptions on their backs and asked what was up- yup hired by Google.

Wow, don’t know what to think about that.

 

[Traveler]

Getting away has always been a personal choice. No one forces connectivity in anyone

 

[AdamLewis]

What's your thoughts on the matter?

I dig Starlink and don't think it has or will have a revolutionary impact on wild places. It is just another incremental change like virtually every technological advance ever, that erodes it just a little bit.

As for Google's street view on popular trials, I like it. The more people who sit home and virtually experience a hike from the comfort of their couch the better. With a big enough screen and the right camera angle they can probably snap selfies for their Instagram feed, their true object as opposed to any other part of the experience, and no one will be the wiser.

 

[bigbassin]

You know you can just turn your phone off if you don’t want to be reached.

Edit: Part of me does agree with your sentiment, but I imagine (at least hope) most folks on here are carrying an inReach or something similar. Universal cell service cuts off the need for another subscription to still have that safety net if something goes wrong. Ability to check weather is also pretty helpful imo if it starts looking like it’s gonna do something different than what was forecasted.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm already unreachable every September......for the most part.

 

[Tod osier]

Not sure if everyone's been keeping track of this, but would be curious to get everyone's opinions. I think Starlink is awesome, allowing for high speed internet nearly anywhere with their dish. Opens up allot of doors for people, especially remote communities. Think it's especially awesome that kids around the world are now connected to great online schooling that was never an option to them before! With direct to cell coming soon and increasingly more satellites being launched I do not think we are too far off from literally being able to connect to the internet, anywhere in the world, with our phones. This is a double edge sword for me... I'll love being able to keep my family updated on long trips in the backcountry. Definitely will be safer. BUT I feel like we are also loosing true wilderness. You will never again be able to enter the backcountry and totally be unreachable (unless you choose to). For me, I'll embrace it and welcome it. But... also be a tad sad on what we've lost. What's your thoughts on the matter?

I've used, and now own, a sat phone for years.

Wilderness, while it has a definition, is where you find it and what you make of it. If internet access gets easier in the wilderness, it is up to the user to decide how to use it. I absolutely will use it judiciously to do what I deem enriching my experience. I'll lose something, no doubt, but I won't pretend that I won't use it.

Posted using a Starlink connection from a house that doesn't have a land line.