Jasper is often marketed as a place to unplug—a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and to reconnect with nature.
It’s sold as a place to get back to basic.
But is it really?
Each year more and more RVs pass through our park gates, making their way to Whistlers and Wapiti campgrounds where campers put up their satellite dishes and settle in to watch their stories in the middle of the wilderness.
In the days of smartphones, tablets, laptops and luxury campers, few people fully unplug, even for an hour—that is, of course, unless you count the time spent travelling to Jasper.
Thank goodness for those 40 minutes east and west of the park when phones go silent, as they search—without luck—for service.
Unfortunately, though, that silence is short lived. Once in the townsite—where the almighty 3G regains its power—the chirping of birds and rumbling of trains is replaced with a constant buzzing, beeping and ringing.
The truth is, the only way a visitor will truly disconnect is if they venture into the vast wilderness of the park’s backcountry—but there are few who actually take that leap.
Rather, they stay where it’s safe—in the areas where their lifeline remains on, alerting them to the happenings in their hometown and allowing them to post their vacation memories as soon as they happen.
Whether we like it or not, people will remain firmly connected as long as the service is there, and in the case of Jasper National Park, those services already exist.
That’s why it’s almost impossible to argue against wifi in our campgrounds.
At this point, what’s the harm? The folks who stay in Whistlers and Wapiti are already able to watch television, take hot showers and update their social media feeds—so they might as well be able to play Angry Birds and get a little bit of work done, as well.
In today’s day and age, that’s what people want, and Parks Canada has to stay on top of those demands in order to stay relevant.
For those of us who enjoy the moments of disconnected silence, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but the truth is, the campers enjoying Whistlers and Wapiti are already connected.
We might as well make them as comfortable as possible, so they stay a few extra days and help out Parks Canada’s bottom line.
That way, if we’re lucky, Parks will have enough revenue to maintain backcountry trails and bridges, so those of us who want to disconnect can do so safely.
