Returning to nature

四个美国女孩的“不插电”野外生存挑战。

Imagine getting the chance to go camping for five days. It would be an adventure (冒险) in the wild. You could row on a lake every day and leave your smartphone at home. Would you want to try this?

In June, four teenage girls from Minnesota, US, went camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (边界水域泛舟区). They had a great time – even without their smartphones.

Julia Ruelle, 16, put the group together. Earlier this year, she won an essay contest sponsored (赞助) by a company. The award was a five-day canoe and camping adventure with up to three friends. No parents or guides would be there. This award was supposed to encourage kids to be less dependent on technology.

Ruelle had been to the area before, but she had always gone with her parents. Sharing the experience with friends would be very different. She invited three friends: Anna Wander, Madeline Wilson, and Julianna Torelli.

They came up with a daily plan. “We would wake up early every day. We were done paddling (划桨) by noon. We ate lunch at the campsite. Then it was time for hammocks (吊床), reading, writing, making friendship bracelets (手链), talking and napping,” Ruelle said.

“I’m a lot less worried about things,” Wander said when asked how she felt without her cellphone. Her favorite thing to do was lie in her hammock and look at the lake. Torelli enjoyed cooking. She made blueberry pancakes and sandwiches.

No one felt hungry or homesick. “Mental (心理的) health can be improved so much. It really helps to get away and reconnect with yourself,” Ruelle said.