It's getting too hot to safely do Skyline now.

[Hikin_Jim]

My two cents is ... people are infantilized and have few adult skills in the way that people did up to fifty years ago. Fewer and fewer people know how to do anything physical/crafty, be it woodworking, sewing, starting a fire, growing a plant, etc. Kids don't spend any time wandering around, climbing trees, poking around in the woods or vacant lots. They're always being herded from one adult-supervised activity to another. They spend no time on their own and are disconnected from the realities of physical existence. They're used to everything being virtual, and they're used to being told what to do by authority figures. When they come up against the limits of physical reality in a sudden way (like finding themselves slightly lost) and there's no one there to tell them what to do, they're absolutely flummoxed and panic. They do the only thing they can think of to do--call someone in authority.

And that's one of the reasons I take my daughter hiking as much as I do. I want her to see life beyond YouTube and an iPad. I want her to understand that everything doesn't necessarily come cut and dried in a nice little shrink wrapped package. I want her to see that she has to think, to make choices, to persevere, to overcome. I want to her to know the feel of a breeze not based on a 110 volt powered thermostatically controlled fan. In short: I want her to see the real world, to experience life as it really is.

HJ

[cynthia23]

Very well put HJ. Your daughter has a wise dad! Those of us who have kids (or even just know some kids) have a responsibility to try and counteract the dominant culture and its unhealthy lies. Best way is not by talking about it but just by taking kids out in nature.

[devobrodie]

I really like this thread, a lot of great points, made. I feel much the same about our situation as a society, I will go one further,(I am 52) I grew up in SO CA, but some for some reason I have always had strong connection with the outdoors and "do it your self". My parent let me, as an 11 year old with two friends do an overnight backpack trip, It was just into Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, but it was back into the park over a mile from a city street, and when I was 16 I rode my bicycle with camping gear up to the Bay area(a 5 day trip) with a 18 year old neighbor. If someone did that today, there would be news stories and cries for the parents to be jailed! It gave us confidence and self reliance. We were regularly out of direct parental supervision growing up. In past generations most people had a connection to where food came from, as they or at least relatives had some experience with farming. I also have raised my kids(now grown) on a steady diet of wild game most with bow and arrow. I find many people initially have an issue with it, but I try and ask them a few questions to make them think about it and realize that it is a better choice for not only me for health reasons, but also for the animal. If you were given a choice, live your entire life in a small crowded pen walking in your own S#!T and a 100% chance of being killed and eaten by a human, or the choice to live naturally, wild and free, with an approximate 10% chance of being killed and eaten by a human, and a 90% chance of dying of some other cause, which would you take? Even if you decide to be a Vegetarian or Vegan, the space you live was once occupied by some other animals, when you drive your car to go to work or shopping or hiking, you kill hundreds of animals(if you don't believe me take a look at your radiator and grill), they just don't have big brown eyes. People seem to have lost the knowledge that we are part of Nature, and we can live in it. Be a part of it, and by doing so there are consequences, to both us and to others

[cynthia23]

Yes, hunting for meat is a very valid choice and a good way to grow more aware of the wilderness. I only object to sport hunting (i.e. hunting for trophies, hunting wolves and other big predators, hunting endangered species, etc.) I certainly think it's far more ethical and ecological to hunt and eat a deer then it is to consume large amounts of pesticide-grown corn chips.

I also agree that nowadays, it's very hard for a parent to tell their kids "okay, kids, just go wander off on your own now." Personally, I won't even let my daughters walk home from school (a mere mile) because there have been numerous local episodes of strangers trying to lure or force schoolchildren into cars, and some tragic instances where the kids were killed. I don't know if there are more maniacs now or we are just more aware of them, but it's terrible that we can't allow our children to do developmentally appropriate and healthy activities (such as exploring on their own.) I try to make up for it by getting them out into the wilderness with me or others, but you're right that best of all is when kids can go on long, no-adults trips and explorations on their own. It's a vital part of maturing. Our modern quest for safety for our kids is generally understandable but sometimes I think it goes too far. I remember growing up that every kid had a broken arm or leg at least once--I was constantly signing casts! Kids were always falling out of trees, falling off fences (we climbed fences and trespassed all the time!), getting hurt in crazy pick-up games or absurd stunts. You hardly ever see a kid with a cast now! Instead, they've all got carpal tunnel syndrome from texting and video gaming. Bad trade off. Better to have a broken arm than an immature brain.

[Hikin_Jim]

Better to have a broken arm than an immature brain.

Here, here.

HJ

[Ed]

Being 73, I can certainly rant about selected members of the 'younger generation.' But, truthfully, I am impressed by the number of first-timers I run into on Skyline who are very fit and well-prepared. Typical encounter: with a slightly worried look, they ask me how much further it is. But they are moving so much faster than I am that I can barely summon up an answer.

[Wildhorse]

As Devobrodie wrote, we have lost our orientation, that we are part of nature and okay being wild and in wilderness. We are obsessed with safety, even while we spoil our lives by the obsession. We should live wilder. It is hard for me, at least in some ways, even while I have advocated more risk taking here. As Thoreau wrote, "in Wildness is the preservation of the world." Wildness preserves.

Ed's observation is interesting. The older we become, the more bewildering our presence is to the younger ones, especially in places like Skyline.

[devobrodie]

I am with you on that Cynthia, not ok to Kill for "fun" or thrills only if you use it and appreciate it. I am also with you on the part about our kids, when mine were younger I didn't let them have all the freedom that I did. I did try and give them more than most, but as a parent, once we know what all is out there, it becomes a bit harder to ignore it, even though we know the odds of anything like a stranger abduction is so much more remote than the odds of say, getting hurt in a car accident or hurt riding your bike, the "bogie man" scares us more. I think it is human nature to fear the unknown, this ties back in to the point others were making in this post. To many people being out on a trail, maybe a bit lost, is completely unknown these days, so when they experience it, panic sets in and they call for help. The technology of today has not only allowed then to find out about these adventures, but to hit the easy button if things get too scary. It is a bit of a paradox. The things in our modern information world allowed us to hear about all of these formerly little know secrets like the C2C trail(that is how I found out about it), or the existence of bad people that may want to hurt our kids. Then we assume either we are able to do the adventure,because we can read of others doing it, or that our kids are in eminent danger. Maybe the old saying ignorance is bliss applies well to both situations.

[bluerail]

Wildhorse point is perfect, if you want to test your limits do it in a way you can self rescue. Not one where your body is at risk of shutting down, especially in view of civilization.

[cynthia23]

Hear, hear. All good points. Ed's right that actually many young people are actually much better prepared than years ago, thanks to the info on the Internet. It's just the ones who aren't prepared who are the problem.

btw-- IMHO this weekend is actually a good time to do c2c, as temps are projected to be in the low 80's. By next thursday they're supposed to be at 100! I'm not saying we won't get more cool days (you never know, we've even had some 80s in June) but certainly we won't get a lot of them. Take advantage of them while you can.