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What does wilderness mean to me?

2.27.03

In the last expedition I led a journaling activity where I asked the students to write about what wilderness meant to them. While sitting on our sleeping mat on the snow at dusk we scribbled away for about 15 minutes. Here's my entry:

Wilderness is: wild - an awesome instructor and inspiration to art - a phsycologist on its own, allowing thoughts to roam freely - an American idea - a place where one can live freely with the only laws determined by nature - where the internet does not take you - gives a feeling of solitude and at the same time reminds you that you are part of the bigger picture - refreshes the soul and feeds the heart-

I value wilderness because it is an escape from the pressures and schedules of "normal" life. It is a place where one's spirit can live freely and mind can wander without care, where deadlines are marked only by the hours of sunlight left in the sky. What does constrain you are somehow more natural, more basic needs - hunger, thirst, fatigue, finding shelter, keeping warm. When these are met, one is free to live a simpler life. I find it ironic that people refer to camping as "roughing it" when there are less things to worry about in wilderness.

Being in wilderness reminds me of humans' true place on the earth and puts into perspective our role in it. Hiking along 3000 foot cliffs and 2000 year-old trees is humbling, convincing me that we are not the pinnacle of evolution; there are things in this world more important than us. I am not trying to misanthropic, I just mean that when you experience the wilderness firsthand, you realize that the system as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As members of the planet, humans are part of the system, and I feel this connection in wilderness the most - as Leopold would say, we are all "biotic citizens" of the planet. Being in wilderness takes me to a time where we were more in touch with the earth and ourselves.

Wilderness is also a part of our national heritage. Our nation was founded on the ideas of liberty and freedom. While our country lacks the history of Western civilization marked by centuries-old architecture, we do have areas of relatively untouched natural beauty. The expansive Wilderness areas and extensive National Park system are our country's Eiffel tower, our Cheops, our Great Wall. Our country would be losing a part of its culture if we lost our wilderness. The fact that we have set aside these places for all to share is one of the main reasons I celebrate being an American.

Jocelyn