Is True Wilderness Just a State of Mind?

I've done my share of wilderness travel.....sometimes on trails, alot of the times bushwhacking......A common occurrance for me, no matter how much I enjoy the isolation is that I'll run into a "sign" somewhere's that someone has been here before me....A beer can from the 70's, a cigarette butt, an old fire ring.....hell, one time I was 6 miles from no where and came across an old truck axel from long ago in a creek.

My point is sometimes I'll go to an unlikely spot locally....have the place all to myself for the day, not see anyone & find that peace that I am looking for.

With the exception of Alaska & parts in Cananda...or remote places that only rich yuppies visit...are there really any true untrumped- on wild places anymore?

Sometimes I can find what I'm looking for, walking down the end of my street into some pine barrens in a snow storm & feel better than a 10 mile "whack" in the north country..

Is the "peace & wild feeling" just a state of mind?

[dundee]

I'm afraid it's all in our heads. There is no wilderness.

I do differ with you on the "rich yuppies", tho'. Many folks save for years and years to do something big; Everest, Arctic Wildlife Refuge, Matterhorn, etc. Hell, some folks think that I'm a rich yuppie because I hike Buck Mt. Yeah, yuppie--ok, that's why I'm still driving a 15 year old car!

Rich, there's another state of mind.

[bethfit]

It's in our heads and in the timing. We spent a day a Rock Pond last year in September where there was no one else around. We walked around the whole pond, had a picnic, took a long swim and left without ever seeing another soul. The likelihood of that ever happening again I think is rare. It seemed like our own little preserve. Yet there were plenty of signs of past visitors, but on that day and time it was all ours. Other times we have hiked miles off the "beaten track" where we thought we would have some wilderness and solitude only to encounter a crowd. Cliff's family had a camp in Schoharie county for 40 years. Many a time you could find yourself in places wondering if anyone had been there before(I'm sure they had). Sometimes it's the less "special" less "scenic" spots where you can find more "wilderness". These areas don't draw the crowds, but they are still wonderful. I do know what you mean though Paddlewheel-just when you think your the only one who's ever been there-then there it is "Budweiser". Sometimes the key is timing and a good imagination, but it is still always better than staying home.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by paddlewheel

With the exception of Alaska & parts in Cananda...or remote places that only rich yuppies visit...are there really any true untrumped- on wild places anymore?

What you could have said was, "remote places where the aboriginal people of Canada and Alaska have lived for the last 10,000 years"


Currently, wilderness is defined on a piece of paper in Washington. 1964 Wilderness Act I believe. That's the only definition that is shared in common by the people who determine the basis of what my and your wilderness experience is all about.

Beyond that base, I guess anything goes, depending on what you're reading, what cigarettes you smoke, who your cell phone service provider is and what's in your iPod.

Very good book: Wilderness and the Americain Mind.

Originally Posted by Neil

What you could have said was, "remote places where the aboriginal people of Canada and Alaska have lived for the last 10,000 years"


Currently, wilderness is defined on a piece of paper in Washington. 1964 Wilderness Act I believe. That's the only definition that is shared in common by the people who determine the basis of what my and your wilderness experience is all about.

Beyond that base, I guess anything goes, depending on what you're reading, what cigarettes you smoke, who your cell phone service provider is and what's in your iPod.

Very good book: Wilderness and the Americain Mind.

Neil and Tom: a bow to you. A ''state of mind'' Could the Frontier ever come back? What sacrifice would we have to make?Horse and buggy instead of cars? Its strange how unadaptable some folks are.It would take more than ingenuity to re-create a world of ''simplicity'' It takes a step in the direction of ..God.[IMo] Looncry

Originally Posted by Neil

What you could have said was, "remote places where the aboriginal people of Canada and Alaska have lived for the last 10,000 years"


Currently, wilderness is defined on a piece of paper in Washington. 1964 Wilderness Act I believe. That's the only definition that is shared in common by the people who determine the basis of what my and your wilderness experience is all about.

Beyond that base, I guess anything goes, depending on what you're reading, what cigarettes you smoke, who your cell phone service provider is and what's in your iPod.

Very good book: Wilderness and the Americain Mind.

Hey Neil....did I tell you I just got the Eric Clapton special edition I -phone???
I never leave home without it....it's the love of my life & gives me reason to live

[Neil]

Originally Posted by paddlewheel

Hey Neil....did I tell you I just got the Eric Clapton special edition I -phone???
I never leave home without it....it's the love of my life & gives me reason to live

I'm very happy for you. Your electronic walls will set you free out there in the great ADK wilderness. (hey, what thread is this anyway?)

[dundee]

Originally Posted by Neil

I'm very happy for you. Your electronic walls will set you free out there in the great ADK wilderness.

...while others are imprisoned listening to, "Golf Game At The Sagamore--Live From Buck Mt", to "Honey, I Love You. Did You Get The Flowers?"--Live From Split Rock Lean-to"

[dundee]

Originally Posted by paddlewheel

Hey Neil....did I tell you I just got the Eric Clapton special edition I -phone???
I never leave home without it....it's the love of my life & gives me reason to live

You can't be serious?

Originally Posted by dundee

You can't be serious?

Hell no...........

[dundee]

Originally Posted by paddlewheel

Hell no...........

Just checking. I thought I felt a leg being pulled!

[Little Rickie]

There is no true wilderness anymore as in never has been explored or I can always get a guide to take me.

[Greeneyezz]

A state of mind.

Originally Posted by Greeneyezz

A state of mind.

Put a lot of effort into that one ...didn't ya.........???

[Greeneyezz]

Originally Posted by paddlewheel

Put a lot of effort into that one ...didn't ya.........???

LMAO!!

I had a rough night last night... and I'm about ready to start another one!

[Greeneyezz]

I'm sorry... I'm still laughing over here!

Sorry PW.. You're right, let me give it a bit more effort.

I don't think it's the Wilderness itself that make us feel more at peace. It doesn't have that capability. It's our perception and the meaning we give to that wilderness that instills that deep sense of peace within ourselves.

Mind over matter.
A well trained mind can develop that same sense of innerpeace amid chaos all around them.
For you...you have personal meaning to the wilderness around you and associate that with a sense of inner peace.

Any better? *big smile*

~ZZ

Originally Posted by Greeneyezz

I'm sorry... I'm still laughing over here!

Sorry PW.. You're right, let me give it a bit more effort.

I don't think it's the Wilderness itself that make us feel more at peace. It doesn't have that capability. It's our perception and the meaning we give to that wilderness that instills that deep sense of peace within ourselves.

Mind over matter.
A well trained mind can develop that same sense of innerpeace amid chaos all around them.
For you...you have personal meaning to the wilderness around you and associate that with a sense of inner peace.

Any better? *big smile*

~ZZ

Much better...see what you can muster up when you've got all your acorns in one side of your mouth???

[Greeneyezz]

Originally Posted by paddlewheel

Much better...see what you can muster up when you've got all your acorns in one side of your mouth???

*Raises one eyebrow*
You callin' me Squirlish???

[Greeneyezz]

Additionally, if the Wilderness could talk, this would be it's motto:

"What I said never changed anyone. What they understood did."

~ZZ

Originally Posted by Greeneyezz

*Raises one eyebrow*
You callin' me Squirlish???

You know what they say about the proverbial shoe & it fittin' & all....only kidding

One time I went winter camping with some friends in the southern Adk'S. After a night of some comraderie & some mild partying, I got up, grabbed a pot & went out on the pond to where some previous ice fisherman had left a hole that wasn't quite frozen over...I dipped the pot into that hole to get some coffee water when I looked up & saw a hawk soaring spirally in the sky. I sat on the ice & watched that hawk for at least 30 minutes or so...It was such a relaxing vision....until' this day everytime I get uptight or feel stressed, I try to visulaize that series of moments & 9 times outta 10 it relaxes me & puts me in a better space...

It was just a state of mind.....