[pct-l] Do you really not want to hear?

[Robert Ellinwood]

L-Rod,   I couldn't agree with you more!    HYOH, I realize... but why would I want to miss out on all the wonderful natural sounds I don't get to hear in city settings?  I find them variously pleasing, curious, educational, relaxing, as well as alarming.  One risk in wearing headphones - ear buds or otherwise - is the obvious one of missing the buzz of a rattlesnake (or the song of a rattlesnake, as Deems Burton once called it).  I want to be aware of distant thunder quickly and also to hear that quiet "crack" in the woods behind me.

This summer a hiker just ahead of me on the PCT headed off on a side track up a narrow slot canyon, presumably for a nature stop.  I playfully yelled, "Going the wrong way!"   No response.   Hours later, we met again and she ruefully admitted that she had been so engrossed in her music that she hadn't heard me at all.  She said she eventually "came to" and realized there were no footprints ahead of her in this tight ravine.  She listened to music on her headphones, she said, because otherwise she got bored.   

As a music prof who lives in a house called, "Windsong," I want everyone to enjoy all kinds of music... but not to miss the "natural" kind!   

“Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness."
-  The Life and Letters of John Muir 

Dr Bob


> -----Original Message-----
> From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of
> dsaufley at sprynet.com
> Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 2:08 PM
> To: Hiker97 at aol.com; pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
> Cc: laura629 at hotmail.com; carolbruno at cox.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] SuperSecrets of Backpacking
> 
> Do you really not want to hear?  One of the greatest sensory experiences I had out there
> was hearing the sounds . . . of birds, animals, water, wind etc.  Why would you want to block it
> out?  There were only two nights I used earplugs.  The first was camping with others,
> specifically a very nice fellow who snored very loudly.  The other was trying to sleep when
> caught in the basin below Mather Pass in a massive thunderstorm.  The wind screaming
> against the sides of my tarp tent sounded like a freight train (I used Shire's Virga -- which
> held up great in the storm).
> 
> Keep the headphones for restaurants, but for me, I want to hear every sound of the
> wilderness while I'm still blessed with the ability to hear them.  They were the sweetest
> sounds I've ever heard.
> 
> L-Rod
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Hiker97 at aol.com
> >Sent: Aug 23, 2006 5:15 AM
> >To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
> >Cc: laura629 at hotmail.com, carolbruno at cox.net
> >Subject: [pct-l] SuperSecrets of Backpacking
> >
> >My latest entertainment scheme is to use Sony noise canceling ear  bud
> >headphones with my small FM/AM radio on the trail and in camp.  I  bought mine at
> >BestBuy.  These are expensive ($100) and cost a lot more  than my radio, but
> >they actually work.
> >
> >If it is windy or noisy these headphones cut down on the  background noise on
> >the trail or in camp.  I also use them in my local  restaurant when I want to
> >eat and listen to a radio program.  You can still  hear talking, etc., but it
> >is reduced.
> >
> >I turned them off and on in the restaurant to check the reduction  of
> >background noise.  It is pretty neat how they work.
> >
> >The headphones take a AAA battery to work.  The ones I got  are white in
> >color to match my radio.  I like to be color matched on the  trail and look sharp
> >at all times.
> >
> >Your  hiking buddy, Switchback
> >Trail  DJ and Rock Star
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