RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 31, 2017 9:01:21 GMT -8
The last two weeks I have been in Scotland. It was a mix of hiking as well as general sight seeing activities. We, my wife and I, had a great time and plan to return. This was not my first bit of foreign travel. I have visited in SE Asia, Central and South America, Western Europe, North Africa, and Middle East Asia. I have always found it useful to compare and contrast my experience in my travels with that of my homeland, the good ole USA.
One thing I have really noticed is the quality of the wilderness experience here in the US is generally some of the best in the world. Don't get me wrong, other countries and areas have their particular charm, but the US is superior in several aspects as far as the quality of the wilderness experience, particularly in the western states.
First of all, there is a great sense of being in the wilderness which is often lacking in many other areas of the world. Part of that is just the fact we have a lot of space when compared to places in Europe. For instance in Scotland we hiked part of the Western Highland Way. It was great and the views were marvelous, but the feel was never a wilderness feel like here in the US. Even compared to high traffic hike like Snow Lake and other hikes off the I-90 corridor, it was a palpable difference. Of course this is a highly personal observation, but I think it is probably true for others as well. YMMV
Secondly the access is different. We have plenty of trails with plenty of road access to those trails. In much of the rest of the world, much of the wilder areas are not serviced with road and trail access. In Scotland for example, the trails often parallel roads withing twenty to forty feet, crossing back and forth over the roads. In Thailand, this was a similar experience. Access to deep within the wilderness was often difficult to find.
I think much of the difference I sense is because of the efforts of people like Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and many others. It is reflected in out national park system and out Wilderness Act of 1964. I am thoroughly grateful for these and other aspects with provide us with the uniquely American experience for wilderness enjoyment. I bring this up to just say we have some world class wilderness access close at hand to happily enjoy.
I know this is a generalized observation, but I have found it to be true in my experience. Maybe your experiences have been otherwise. Feel free to chime in and tell your story. What say ye?
Rumi
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Post by Coolkat on Mar 31, 2017 9:09:38 GMT -8
Maybe your experiences have been otherwise. Feel free to chime in and tell your story. What say ye? I've been overseas several times but never to hike so I really comment on that part. However, what you describe is how I've imagined it to be and for that reason, I probably won't plan an overseas trip for hiking until I've done a lot more here in the US first. |
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desert dweller
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Post by desert dweller on Mar 31, 2017 9:18:59 GMT -8
Good observations. When you think about it, Europe has been populated for a long time. Most land is claimed by generations of families that have all changed the 'scape. It's amazing there are any places at all to get away from civilization and do a hike in Britain.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Mar 31, 2017 10:38:52 GMT -8
The decimation of the Native American population probably played a roll in this as well.
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balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on Mar 31, 2017 11:53:08 GMT -8
Part of it is New World vs. Old World. We have more space, and have had less time for development in those spaces.
But I assume that there are place in Norway, Siberia, Greenland, that are every bit as wild as anything we have here in the New World. And if you want jungles instead of mountains, my guess is that the Amazon and Borneo leave us pretty far behind.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Mar 31, 2017 11:57:55 GMT -8
It seems like the on-shore portions of Scotland are nearly devoid of anything resembling wilderness, although there's plenty of natural beauty. I'll find out next year with the others what the islands are like.
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Post by Coolkat on Mar 31, 2017 12:13:20 GMT -8
And if you want jungles instead of mountains, my guess is that the Amazon and Borneo leave us pretty far behind. Jungles with their heat and humidity hold no allurement for me. However, you might get my ears to perk up at a trek in Siberia or Kamchatcka but for now I'll settle for what we have here. |
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Mar 31, 2017 12:38:52 GMT -8
Canada has its share. Wood Buffalo NP, for example, is 6x the size of Yellowstone, with zero trail system. A friend goes there every few years for a solo trip. He says it is pretty sobering. Even with a sat phone any rescue may be a several day wait.
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 31, 2017 15:27:05 GMT -8
Part of it is New World vs. Old World. We have more space, and have had less time for development in those spaces. This is undoubtedly part of it, but there is more to it than just that. I haven't seen elsewhere much of the attitude or practice of wilderness as in the Wilderness Act of 1964. There have been a few scattered exceptions to that but very few I have run across. But I assume that there are place in Norway, Siberia, Greenland, that are every bit as wild as anything we have here in the New World. And if you want jungles instead of mountains, my guess is that the Amazon and Borneo leave us pretty far behind. Much of those areas have remained wild because there has been very little reason to exploit them. Eother that or they were so difficult to exploit it was just impractical. This remains true for much of Alaska as well. The wilderness characteristics and resulting restrictions as defined in the Wilderness Act of 1964 truly are unique to the USA. Canada and other nations have some similar laws, but here in the USA it is a much more practiced ethos in my experience. And though I really do enjoy the natural places in other areas of the world, it really has a different feel here in the USA, especially in the western states. Rumi |
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Mar 31, 2017 15:45:40 GMT -8
From what I have seen in Scotland, I would agree with your assessment. Kenya was another thing altogether. I saw lots of what I would call Wilderness there. They also had several national parks, similar to ours.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 31, 2017 15:57:20 GMT -8
One thing that I noticed trekking in Peru (and also from my husband's photos of trekking in Nepal, ca. 1980), is what Lamebeaver alludes to. We created wilderness areas with no humans living in them, because the Native Americans had been pretty well wiped out. In Peru, the national parks still contained communities living there, and livestock was grazed pretty much everywhere up to the edge of the snow and ice. You can be among some amazingly wild terrain, and three days walk from the nearest road, which is dirt, but there will still be a village or a farm.
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 31, 2017 16:39:40 GMT -8
Yea, I am not saying there isn't wilderness in other countries. I am saying that combining the access we have to wilderness along with the character of our wilderness is kinda unique with our nation. In other words, we have high quality protected wilderness which is reasonably easy to access by many Americans.
And yes, as a first world nation we have a different perspective than the third world. For the Yanomami of Brasil, accessing wilderness means walking fifty feet outside their hut. It is just a part of their everyday life.
There's lots of wilderness in Siberia, Africa, Asia, Greenland, and similar, but it is not easily accessible and much of it does not enjoy the protected status of our wilderness areas.
Rumi
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Post by rwtb123 on Mar 31, 2017 19:36:21 GMT -8
I prefer the Appalachians or the Florida Everglades over anything in the western U.S.But I have spent years exploring those ecosystems getting to know their diverse array of plants,animals,habitats,culture,history,etc.So I am not really surprised the western U.S. clan on this sub-forum prefers the western U.S. wilderness areas.
My approach to experiencing wilderness is to get out and explore an area as often as possible and as there are fascinating areas to explore wherever you are I would encourage others to do the same in their particular area while letting others do the mapping,rating,dissecting,classifying,over-analyzing or whatever...
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Mar 31, 2017 19:52:08 GMT -8
Our country is incredibly vast and diverse. I cannot imagine a nation with more impressive and diverse landforms than the US. It is remarkable to me that under one subcontinent we have vast deserts, rain forest, alpine forest, savanna grasslands, boreal forest, continental hardwood forest, vast freshwater marsh, bayous and coastal wetlands, HUGE river systems, the world's largest freshwater lake system, coastal ranges, interior ranges, a great basin, several bays the size of small seas, and near tropical islands. It's mind boggling to think our land is this diverse.
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Post by absarokanaut on Apr 1, 2017 6:19:23 GMT -8
RWTB,
I have several friends I could never drag away from your deciduous paradise. Different landscapes appeal to the differences among us.
It is true that the historical and geographical factors enabled us to preserve more of our continent than Europe has. Yet we can be proud of our conservationist heritage that more often than you think crosses party lines. If you can get a kid into the wilderness and show them a great time it is likely you'll nurture a lifetime advocate.
"In Wildness Is the
Preservation of the World" H.D. Thoreau
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