“Can You Hear Me Now?”

“Can You Hear Me Now?”

            Do you like hiking? Do you enjoy skiing? Are you worried that if you take your cell phone in your pocket or backpack when you go outdoors it will ruin your experience? Will your phone distract you from your experience, because it will keep buzzing with every notification you get? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, reading my very first college essay is a must.  My name is Katarina; I live in Oregon, a heaven for outdoor lovers and nature enthusiasts. I am here to tell you that people who would never take a cellphone into nature are being too extreme, and to show you that, in fact, having cell phone with you will enhance your experience in the natural world.

What is the first electronic device that you remember seeing or playing with as a child? I remember mine. It was a black and white TV. That TV wasn’t even in the apartment where I lived with my parents and siblings. It was in the neighbor’s apartment who lived one floor above us, and it was a big deal. It was at the time a true luxury positioned in the middle of the living room for everyone to admire.  “Good grief! How old is this author of this first college essay?” you ask. “Dude, she’s got to be over 80 years old. She had to go to her neighbor’s apartment to watch black and white TV? What is this, the Stone Age? Let me explain. I was born 56 years ago and lived the first half of my life behind the iron curtain in communist Czechoslovakia. In the whole Eastern European block, every technological discovery was 30 years behind the rest of the developed world. That explains the thrill of little me meeting black and white TV. After raising three kids, I returned to school with a goal of obtaining a degree in business administration. I lived for a long time in the absence of technology, and that gives me different perspective of using it. I adore the outdoors. I love skiing; I love hiking. Having these kinds of hobbies and living in Oregon is a match made in heaven, and I find my cell phone to be great companion for these adventures.

            The first reason I take my cell phone with me when I go hiking or skiing is the sense of security in case of emergency. Somehow I feel much more secure that, if I am in need of help, if there is an accident, someone falls off a cliff, someone gets a heart attack or is attacked by wildlife, I can call for help. That feeling of security gives me peace of mind, although there are many places in the wilderness when we don’t get a cell phone signal and we would have to have a satellite phone to make a call. I also believe that if I get lost for some reason, unable to move or call for help, rescuers would find me easier based on my cell phone pings. I remember when a family got lost in Southern Oregon. They took a forest road to reach Gold Beach, and they got snowed in. They even  put the tires on fire to keep warm. Help didn’t arrive, although rescuers were trying very hard to locate them. Eventually the dad walked away in hopes of finding help and the mom stayed put with her two children. I remember Verizon bringing a portable cell phone tower, in order to get the ping signals from their phones. They found the mom and the kids 5 minutes before twelve, so to speak, exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and cold. They couldn’t find the dad, and by the time they found him, he wasn’t alive anymore. That was really sad, and what a hero that dad was, literally giving his life to try to save his family.

            The second thing that I find very useful on my iPhone is it’s GPS feature. I use a free version of an app called “AllTrails”. Containing information about pretty much every trail, this app helps me to search for new trails, view topographic maps and record my hikes, and I can even contribute my observations and help out other hikers with posting comments. Check it out, you would be surprised how much nature surrounds you right where you are and how easy is it to schedule an outing. You don’t need the whole day, you can find a hike or strength walk just for few hours wherever you are. I was able to help out two hikers this year using this app. At the beginning of summer my daughter and I hiked to the “Devil’s Rest” in Columbia Gorge. If you’ve never been there, it is pretty confusing trail. It is not marked very well, sometimes the trail divides and you have no clue which way to go. Once you reach Devil’s Rest there is no even a sign anywhere letting you know you’ve reached it. People pass us all the time, but there was one person who passed us several times. He had small map and compass in his hand and he had no clue where he was. On the top of that, he didn’t speak English. Pretty courageous if you ask me. I showed him on my phone where we are and how much farther we need to hike. We ended up having lunch together on the “Devil’s Rest” although our communication was very rudimentary.

            Third thing that I use my phone for outdoors is to capture the breathtaking scenery. Latest cell phones have the most amazing picture and video capabilities. There is nothing like hiking for hours, coming to a place and seeing a view that you never knew existed. You look around and know instantly that all that uphill huffing and puffing was so worth it. Then you just immerse yourself in the place. Pictures that you take you can share with your friends or just keep them to yourself and look at them when you return to these magic places in your memories. When we visit Slovakia is the summer, we hike a lot with my nephew, who is amazing mountain guide. My daughter Sarah and I, we always drag our hiking boots back and forth when we visit. Robert never visited Oregon, so when we hike here in Oregon, I just snap pictures and send them to him instantly with maps and location. Even though he cannot be with us in person, he is with us virtually, because he sees the views at the same time we see them. And he is 5,000 miles away.

            I hope you liked my presentation and the idea that cell phones can actually enhance our outdoor experience if used properly.

I take one 4-credit class this quarter, an English composition Writing 121 class at Portland Community College. I didn’t have any expectations when I signed up for it. It was more to fulfill my requirements to take business classes. Something unexpected happened though; I realized that writing is cool. When I write I feel like I step into a river and just go with the flow. No moving, no swimming, just opening my heart and painting a picture using words instead of colors. It is a very special experience. A week or so ago we’ve read in our class an article from The New Yorker magazine called “Just in Time For Spring” by Ellis Weiner, where the author satirically talks to his readers who live in the digital world, about disconnecting themselves from all their electronic devices and spending time outside. In my essay I wanted to point out that we can actually take our devices with us, and if we use them correctly they will enhance our outdoor experience, rather than ruin it.