I was stoked to have an excellent example of getting too wild - Christopher McCandless of Into the Wild fame (infamy?). McCandless broke away from society as most of us know it and simplified his life to the extreme. Unfortunately at some point he got it wrong and paid the ultimate price. Boom! You can't argue with that can you? If you try to extricate yourself from the bonds of modern society, bad things happen right? Well...no.

Contrary to the above example I had planned to use, I don't believe you can ever get too wild. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia once said that the hardest thing you can do is to simplify your life...it is easy to make it so complex. All the trappings of modern society are largely superfluous to our needs. The list is endless. But what would really happen if we left it all behind? Could we survive without those things to which we have become so accustomed? Would it matter if I did not update my blog, Facebook or Twitter? What if I had no car, train or plane to get around in? No tech, no supermarket, no giant Apple store?

Most people would scoff at the idea of "dropping out". Modern civilizations are geared for the opposite of this with constant reinforcement to remind us. You need a big bank loan for a house you can't afford, you need a new sofa on 24-months interest free, you need a new smartphone and you need a new car. To what end? As Chouinard said, simplifying your life is difficult.

Dropping everything to head into the Alaskan wilderness is not for everyone and I do not advocate that people do so (unless they want to). But, I only see benefits from simplifying life and one of the best ways to do this is to get outside. As anyone would testify, when you are stood on top of a mountain, big or small or floating a river the last thing you are thinking of is your mortgage, that new Scarlett Johansson film, what your friend's Facebook status is or even whether your took the garbage out. Who f**ken cares? Because, it doesn't matter! Feeling the rush of the wind on the summit and the sting of the glacial water on your face is what counts. It's what you will hold close to your heart for the rest of your life. It will form the basis for the stories you tell your kids and your grandkids. That is what makes a life worth living.

My passion for the outdoors has, unfortunately, led me to being plugged into the internet and other modern conveniences way too much. The realization of which is leading to some changes to how I communicate while on expedition and off. Don't fret, I ain't going all Alexander Supertramp, but a bit more of that and bit less Mark Zuckerberg can only be a good thing right?

In 1968, he and good mate, Doug Tompkins set out from Ventura, California on the road trip of a lifetime. Taking a second-hand van and loading it up with surf boards and climbing kit, they left on a 5000-mile journey. The aim? Put up a new route on Patagonia's Mt. Fitzroy. There's a lot of coast between California and Chile. A lot of sweet waves too!

In 2007/2008 a group of Patagonia "friends" including the surfing Malloy brothers decided to follow (sort of) Yvon and Doug's journey, 40 years previous. All up, both adventures look the business. The result you can see above. Dig the vibe and the tunes! I reckon you must be kidding me if this clip does not make you want to pack it all in and chase your own dreams, whatever they may be.

Check out the website here.