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“15 years ago, the internet was an escape from the real world. Now, the real world is an escape from the internet.”  Noah Smith

I came upon this quote, quite ironically, while surfing the internet. It stopped me in my tracks, more like my trackpad, and it made me reflect a little on its substance. I went back 15 years, and I was 26. It was 2003 and I was back in Colorado guiding rivers in the summer, living in the back of my truck. I had a no thrills cell phone and probably an early generation iPod. My laptop was really a tool to watch DVD’s. On a day off, you could go to the library in town, take out a book for the week and get on a computer that had internet access for 15-minute blocks. Typically there was a line of other dirtbag guides that kept you to your max time. I remember checking email and writing people knowing it would be days before I would be able to check if I had any replies. That was fine. Occasionally, there was something I wanted to search for, that called me deeper into the web, but it was rare. As long as the rivers were running, that’s where I wanted to be…splatting a rock, surfing a standing wave in my kayak or gutting a massive hydraulic with thrill-seeking paddling guests.

The internet now, for better or worse, is ubiquitous. We are all content producing and devouring machines.  You don’t have to wait in lines and no one holds you to your 15-minute time slot. It really is in the palm of our hands. You can stream full-length movies in high definition, FaceTime with family halfway around the world, purchase anything you want, find the answer to any question you may have, book a flight, arrange a taxi or pick up, make reservations for dinner, access news stories from every major news outlet, shoot and share a video of your kid with family, stay connected via email and the list goes on and on. The only way to really disconnect is to go where the towers don’t reach and there are no outlets. Now it doesn’t have to be extreme, like “Captain Fantastic,” although for me my inner transcendentalist did connect deeply with the protagonist. And I think the leaving, also, doesn’t have to be permanent. It can be a brief escape, an interlude, a break, a reprieve…a retreat. I really think that escaping in and of itself is something mankind has been doing since the caves. People seek to escape for as many reasons as they try to connect. Maybe that’s the key. Since the connectivity that is rampant today is so hyperbolic and some would argue synthetic, more through devices than contact, disconnecting may truly be the only way to connect authentically with places, other people and more importantly…yourself.

So, “If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain..”  These are some featured escapes we are sharing with our friends and fans this summer. We appreciate you and look forward to continued connection and correspondence.

Javier

CEO/River Manager

Adrift Adventures
Stand Up Paddle Colorado

Check out this season’s trips here.