When I used to work for Outward Bound it was hard to explain to the students and their families why bringing cell phones on wilderness trips was not a great idea.  After all one of the reasons to go on extended (or even just a day hike) nature trips is to get away, take time to contemplate and be attuned to what is around you.

If cell phones now have applications that would make some people believe that it is an indispensible  safety tool, it would be hard to deny their uses on courses or even on trips where other families may think they are important.

I must note that I may have a biases opinion on this subject.  For one I have never used a cell phone that has the possibility of having applications.  Also, without truly admitting it to myself I would kind of like to be able to be able to be so much in tune with the latest technological gadgets.

Here is a short list of information about these outdoor applications:

·         If you go on the iphone website to see the list of all there outdoor applications.  They include bird watching, butterflies, night ski guides,  blaze a trail ( create a photo and map documentary of your trip), 360 degree photo options and nautical applications.

All in all the iphone applications are more like guidebooks and journals.  This seems to be a good thing since it would reduce on weight while backpacking or traveling outdoors.

The applications that made me question this new trend are the applications:

·         The Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC), Canada’s national public avalanche safety organization, and Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) have developed a free iPhone app. An article about this appeared on Trail Space. Read article

At first this applications seems to be a good idea.  To give people the latest information on avalanche, etc.  But, it can give false confidence for people and make some folks think that less training is required.  Many outdoor destination are out of cell phone service.

·         As reported in the Aspen Times on Saturday January 16^th, 2010, Alex Tiger of NJ has created the “Scare Bear Trail Companion”,  it is an application that makes noise to deter a bear.

 Like the previous cell phone application it seems that it could give people a fake sense of security. Especially since I know that iphones don’t work in Woody Creek, for example, where a friend of mines tenant was face to face with a bear in her living room last year.

Since, it really seems like I phones are taking over the world, it may become a requirement for me to try one out one of these days and then I could really report on the pros and cons of each of these great outdoors applications.

Heidi