How I Learned to Quit My Phone and Love My Vacation

Sunday afternoon I returned from five days at Paradox Lake, a beautiful haven within the 6-million-acre Adirondack State Park in New York. It was time well-spent building camp fires, kayaking, hiking, grilling, fishing and laughing with friends. And thanks to my mobile carrier's coverage (or lack thereof in almost any area NOT a major metro), my iPhone 6S became little more than a camera. I'd like to say I shifted to being truly off the grid effortlessly, using the printed out email directions from the cabin owner to navigate the final 10 miles into the wilderness. Directions like: "Make a left onto Cabin Road and drive for 2.5 miles, then when you see the sign for 'Camp Crystal Lake,' make a sharp right turn up a steep hill, spin out your tires a couple times trying to make it up the hill, pass a raccoon waving stick, then park in front of the cabin, not across from it. Just ... trust us." Or you know, something like that. And I was in good shape with just those printed directions. I found the cabin, parked, unloaded, unpacked and had a good first day taking photos as I kayaked the lake and creek, and reading on the back porch in an Adirondack chair. https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/13456083_1053239991426963_665354157_n.mp4 Then it was Day 2, and I realized I hadn't written down the address for the brewery I wanted to visit or any notes about potential hikes in the region before driving up from Philadelphia. I was going on foggy memory, recalling that the brewery, while named Paradox Brewery, was actually located closer to Schroon Lake, which was to the south of me, in a different town. And that, while there was a hike to Gull Pond, there was also a hike to Crane Pond, Otter Pond, Rock Pond and Goose Pond, all within two miles of each other — and I had no idea how to find a single trail head. This is where I would have pulled out my phone and googled it — let's be honest, it's less of a phone and more of a handheld Google Box — but I had no service. I also didn't know when my friends Rachel and Dave would be arriving on Day 2, because, again, no service. What did I do? I drove 45 minutes south until I heard my phone start going off with notifications, and then pulled into a scenic "texting" lot. I threw the car into park, snatched the phone up and watched as all those little badge icon numbers grew in leaps and bounds. I sent messages to my friends about the cabin directions and advice to pack warm clothes. Then I looked up driving directions to the brewery, as well as to a general store where I could purchase a trail guide for hiking. And then ... I posted a bunch of photos to Instagram (cross-posting to Facebook), checked all my social networks, skimmed my work email, and realized that I had been sitting in my car in a parking lot staring at my phone for 30 minutes. I was on vacation. In the Adirondacks, one of the most beautiful state parks in the country, and I was looking at my freaking phone. I drove back north, bought my trail guide, checked the brewery hours (in person!), then went for a 6.6 mile hike using only my guide book, trail markers, and eyes and feet to manage. I survived. [caption id="attachment_55571" align="alignright" width="300"] I made that. With my own hands.[/caption] After my hike, I came back, cooked salmon by making an educated guess how to prepare it (no Epicurious app), and then started a camp fire after about 15 minutes of trial and error (Protip: pine needles don't make the best kindling, but a random paper bag will). Now, Rachel and Dave have a different mobile carrier, so they did occasionally have service at the cabin after they arrived. At first I was a little envious — they could post photos in real time! And check the news! And google if Northern Pike is edible (it is). But then I witnessed clients calling Dave about projects, and random news notifications going off on Rachel's phone, while mine stayed silent, except when we listened to a Lord Huron album down on the beach while drinking beer and watching Dave fish (my camera had turned into an MP3 player). According to Leslie Perlow, PhD, the Konosuke Matsushita professor of leadership at the Harvard Business School, 51 percent of people check their smartphones continuously during vacation. It's this new, weird reality we live in, but I adjusted pretty quickly to not using my phone, and instead being in the moment. And while it was sometimes inconvenient in regard to getting directions or looking up details about hiking trails, I managed. Post vacation, my smartphone has come in handy as Rachel and I text each other back and forth, sharing photos and commiserating how returning to the real world is for the birds (a loon to be exact). And maybe I will learn how to put the phone down, even when I do have service.

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How I Learned to Quit My Phone and Love My Vacation

Melissa Ward

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Melissa Ward