Always connected

The weather over the Christmas holiday was relatively mild in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, so my wife and I took the opportunity to get into the mountains and hike a new trail that had been recommended to us.We took along my 13-year-old niece Deanna from Memphis, who was visiting my parents (her grandparents) with her mom and older sister.The hike was a round-trip of five miles along a spine of the Massanutten Mountain range. The highlight was Kennedy's Peak, which has a look-out tower that provides great views up and down the Shenandoah Valley.The trail follows the ridge line and then dips down into a saddle and around the base of Kennedy's Peak until you get to a steep quarter-mile side trail that takes you to the peak. From there, it was easy to see Luray to the south and follow the bends of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River as it flows north.At the top, we ate a few snacks and relaxed. It was then that we heard a buzzing sound and my niece reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.Deanna had a text message from a friend in Memphis (Collierville for those who know the area).As we made our return trip, the buzzing of Deanna's phone accompanied us back down the mountain. She told her friend what she was doing, where she was and that they needed to find places to hike near Memphis. She even tried to send him a photo but his phone couldn't receive it.It didn't distract from the trip, though she did stumble a couple times when she was trying to text and hike at the same time. She says her friend can text with one hand and without looking. Deanna hasn't mastered that yet.For me, there was the realization that the places in the world where we can't be reached is shrinking, but that isn't such as a bad thing. I brought my Blackberry because I wanted a backup in case someone twisted an ankle or worse. I didn't need it but I'm glad I had it with me.My point is that with all these technologies we still have a personal choice. My niece thought it was cool to text from the top of the mountain.But if you don't want to do that, just keep it in your backpack.