I’ve written before about the benefits of unplugging. However, like many other people I’m much better at giving advice like this than executing on it.

I brought my phone with us on our recent backpacking trip because it is currently the best camera that I own. It also provides the added benefits of live trail updates via All Trails and its integrated GPS and the emergency flashlight. Whereas before, I would bring my Canon Digital Elf camera, paper topo maps, and my phone would remain in my car.

I had turned off mobile data, thinking this would maximize my battery usage during the trip. But while setting up camp beyond Yosemite Falls, my phone binged with an SMS message. Guess I should have put it in airplane mode! We were surprised to find that for much of our hike north of Yosemite Valley and south of Tioga Road, we had phone reception and even 4G/5G data.

It used to be when out backpacking, you were disconnected by default. Disciplined unplugging is now required – even when out exploring God’s great earth.

If you are interested in the actual hike we took in Yosemite, I have published it on AllTrails.