Drones! 🚁

I was out for a quiet walk along the Stewart Creek and all the sudden I heard a buzz. At first I thought it was some kind of ground hornet but I looked up and it was a drone. I’ve never seen a drone in the back country before, although I did see one once at Vromans Nose and once or twice at the town park and high school.

Honestly I can see why they are banned in wilderness areas and how they can really disturb the silence of the back country. For a moment I felt my privacy violated – I never even spotted the person flying it.

But I am also aware of the amazing footage they produce, how they expand our understanding of the natural world and capture the scenery. I can imagine the images they produce can be invaluable, especially when georefrenced and used with other data in a GIS program.

And it’s not like the wild forest are completely silent. There are roads through the edges and sometimes deep into it. I was hiking a snowmobile trail and had the snow been deeper there would be the roar of two stroke engines.

I’ve long thought about getting a drone as another way to capture my trips but so far I haven’t gotten one. That said, I feel like I own too much stuff already and don’t need another toy. And the technology will only get cheaper and more refined although I’m already quite impressed with what they currently do from watching the YouTube.