Let’s face it: the digital age has taken over. We know that the average American checks their phone 47 times per day (that number nearly doubles for 18 – 24 year olds), one of every five pages on the Internet is on Facebook, and this cat video has more video views than there were attendees at President Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
But what does that actually mean? Are these statistics inferring that we are spending more time with our cell phones on than our headlamps? Are we more likely to enjoy watching someone else’s rad line along a spine in Alaska than go out and create our own?
While I definitely can’t answer those questions, there is one thing I know for certain: The times are changing.
That is why it’s crucial to consider the importance of recreation in Vermont. We live in a state that’s flooded with opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. From skiing along the Catamount Trail to bombing down Hinesburg Town Forest in the summer, these opportunities can provide some reprieve from our technology-ridden world.
Furthermore, the up-and-coming trend of huts and cabins is taking storm to enhance our opportunities even further. Cabins can go beyond the normal call to adventure and create a space where our dreams of longer periods of recreation and lack of connectivity can become reality.
Cabins, huts, yurts or anything called a shelter can provide extensive growth to our already-amazing recreation. We can turn our one-day bike trips into weeklong bike tours covering the state. We can take our quick backcountry laps and turn them into extended powder missions and so much more. With cabins, the opportunities for recreation in Vermont become endless.
And the most beautiful part is that this will help garner our personal connections with each other, rather than our phones. We can spend time focusing on the wonders of nature instead of the typical selfie shot. Connecting with others during our hut adventures can actually help to disconnect us from the digital world, and that idea alone is incredibly freeing.
So what does that mean for you? Simple – support our mission.
We want to make accommodations accessible for all outdoorsy folks in the state and create more opportunities than we’ve ever had before. Vermont has given us an amazing playground, so let’s make sure we utilize it to the fullest.