"Wilderness" what is it....really

[Sourdough]

What is wilderness.......? We talk about "Wilderness" Survival not "Outdoor" Survival. What is wilderness, have you ever seen wilderness........???

[Rick]

Like everything else it's going to be different for everyone. In answer to your question, yes, I've seen wilderness. I see woods a lot more often, though.

[pete lynch]

If you mean any land untouched by progress then the closest I have been to seeing wilderness is the south Texas prairie stretching out to the horizon.

[crashdive123]

Yes, I've seen wilderness. In all of my travels and exploring, I'd have to say that the most vast expanse of wilderness was at sea.

[finallyME]

Never seen wilderness. Just this stuff.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6087/6122415004_a785758d97_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6081/6122413358_e53ed72d9d_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6192/6122413046_82aa856db3_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6083/6121869223_305efc9080_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6028/5952835225_82a1f99d4f_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6035/5891504638_fee43e3c6c_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6053/5891500264_d1ae075384_z.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5306/5890931373_5783cda32d_z.jpg

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4147/4986853922_4059db015d_z.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7wQQURkOZ9I/T_pV2w6U6mI/AAAAAAAAACQ/rlPqOcn3lZM/s720/IMG_0264.JPG

[Celticwarrior]

I've been places in Africa and South America that few if any people have set foot or seen. I've been places in Alaska that are endless tracts of empty land and snow that people may or may not have ever tread. I've explored far off the beaten paths here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and all over in the Pacific Northwest in forests so dense that knowing where you are on a map means almost nothing to you on the ground. I've seen wilderness, and I've seen a lot of pretty places that were outdoors, but well travelled.

[Sarge47]

Did you ever live in the heart of a bad neighborhood in Chicago near the loop? Now that's either Wilderness or Jungle, I haven't really decided which. :ph34r:

[karatediver]

I consider wilderness any area that does not have any man made structures or utilities and in which running across other humans is a rare possibility. I also consider wilderness to be any area where the danger factors such as injury, loss of supplies, etc could lead to death. Thus running out of food at the KOA is not wilderness. Running out of food at a pass on the John Muir trail a couple days from the car is wilderness. Thus a camp ground with a facet and a couple drop toilets is not wilderness. A camp site high in the mountains on a seldom used trail with no facet or toilets would be wilderness to me. Hiking a trail where you see other folks every few miles is not wilderness to me. Hiking a trail where you may not see others for a day or more is wilderness in my opinion.

I guess it's like porn, hard to come up with a written definition of what it is but I sure know it when I see it. Not that I look at that sort of thing.

[finallyME]

I've been places in Africa and South America that few if any people have set foot or seen. I've been places in Alaska that are endless tracts of empty land and snow that people may or may not have ever tread. I've explored far off the beaten paths here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and all over in the Pacific Northwest in forests so dense that knowing where you are on a map means almost nothing to you on the ground. I've seen wilderness, and I've seen a lot of pretty places that were outdoors, but well travelled.


I have been stopped in the middle of the desert in Iraq, with a flat tire, not a soul in sight, 120F, blazing sun. Then all of a sudden, a bunch of Iraqis come out of the sand with a block of ice to sell. Where the *&%*^% did they get a block of ice out in the middle of no-where?

[finallyME]

I guess it's like porn, hard to come up with a written definition of what it is but I sure know it when I see it. Not that I look at that sort of thing.

What don't you look at, wilderness or porn? :)

[jhnnymwr75]

decided to get the google definition.
1. An uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region.
2. A neglected or abandoned area of a garden or town.
So yes, I have by that means. But my definition is much different, and in that case, not really.

[Sarge47]

I consider wilderness any area that does not have any man made structures or utilities and in which running across other humans is a rare possibility. I also consider wilderness to be any area where the danger factors such as injury, loss of supplies, etc could lead to death. Thus running out of food at the KOA is not wilderness. Running out of food at a pass on the John Muir trail a couple days from the car is wilderness. Thus a camp ground with a facet and a couple drop toilets is not wilderness. A camp site high in the mountains on a seldom used trail with no facet or toilets would be wilderness to me. Hiking a trail where you see other folks every few miles is not wilderness to me. Hiking a trail where you may not see others for a day or more is wilderness in my opinion.

I guess it's like porn, hard to come up with a written definition of what it is but I sure know it when I see it. Not that I look at that sort of thing.

Is it really a "Wilderness" if there's a trail running through it? :detective:

[Sarge47]

I have been stopped in the middle of the desert in Iraq, with a flat tire, not a soul in sight, 120F, blazing sun. Then all of a sudden, a bunch of Iraqis come out of the sand with a block of ice to sell. Where the *&%*^% did they get a block of ice out in the middle of no-where?

You just gotta love the entrepreneurial spirit! :osama:

[hunter63]

Been a lot of places, seen lots of country....some pretty far, and wild......not sure if it was wilderness or not.....
I need to be able to walk all day and not see a alum can or plastic bottle.

[wildWoman]

Wilderness is an (intact) ecosystem that's not part of your culture, where you're unsure of the rules, don't have deep spiritual ties to it so that a lot of things in it don't have any meaning to you.
Otherwise, it's just home.

[Desert Rat!]

Is it really a "Wilderness" if there's a trail running through it? :detective: it depends on what made the trail.