Question: If some one blasts Wu Tang in the middle of the woods and no one is there to hear it, is it still annoying?

Music is praised for its ability to transform the way people feel. It can lighten the mood, improve concentration or simply help you relax. However, these same benefits can be achieved without the aid of a computer or iPod — just by getting outside!

Hiking, climbing, biking, skiing and other outdoor sports are all about the escape and the experience. Like music, these activities mean different things to different people. For some, it’s all about getting excited and going out. For others, it’s about calming down and looking around. Problems sometimes arise however, when people attempt to double their pleasure by combining music and the outdoors.

One such jarring juxtaposition occurred earlier this fall in the Gunks, where I was bouldering with some old friends and new acquaintances. It was a magnificent fall day, and every one was psyched to be outside. Only, things got a little weird when the iPod speakers came out. A group of climbers nearby who were loudly working out the moves for Tiger Style — a boulder problem at the Gunks — and had decided that it would be appropriate to blast the eponymous Wu Tang song while they climbed / screamed their way up.

While I really enjoy watching climbing videos with a bumping soundtrack, experiencing it live and in my face was a bit much. It seemed obnoxious instead of hip, and turned a tranquil day outside into a grungy gym-fest complete with shirtless, beta-spewing dudes. Needless the say, the relaxed, fun vibe was effectively silenced.

Another musical debacle occurred last summer, when my good friend Jeff and I attempted to climb the Grand Teton in Wyoming. Rising 13,770 feet above sea level, the summit lies over 11 miles and 7000 feet in vertical elevation from the trailhead. Jeff and I each had about 60 pounds of camping and climbing gear in our packs, and were not looking forward to the brutal, thigh-crushing hike in. To allay the pain and pass the time, Jeff suggested that we listen to books on tape as we hiked. Dreading the next six hours that lay ahead of me, I gratefully accepted his recommendation — anything to make our attempt successful.

Disaster struck not on the way up — unless you count hail and a possible case of HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) at 13,100 feet — but on the way down. Plugged in and tuned out, I was so into my book that I nearly failed to notice that I was about to rear-end an adolescent black bear foraging along the trail.

Two sets of hikers desperately tried to save me from walking towards certain doom, but I flew right past them. With my auditory senses occupied, only my discerning nose’s ability to detect the bear’s musty funk saved me from getting my face mistaken for some delicious trail-side berries. Disaster avoided, I managed to escape unscathed but with some cool photos of bear butt as I continued back down the trail and to my car.

Even though I’ve been out bro-ed and nearly killed by music outside, I don’t necessarily think that music and the outdoors are mutually exclusive. Rather, I highly encourage people to get more out of the outdoors without music, even just to try it! You may just find that one of the best parts about going outside is that ability to unplug and embrace your surroundings, instead of covering them up with your own projections.

So next time you go out for a run in the plantations or a bike ride along the lake, leave your iPod at home. Let the gorges be your soundtrack, and be on the lookout for wildlife! (There are bears in New York; you knew that, right?).