This attitude of going into the wilderness to test yourself against nature, conquer it, and stand where no human has ever stood, I can understand it, but I thin

This attitude of going into the wilderness to test yourself against nature, conquer it, and stand where no human has ever stood, I can understand it, but I think it tragically misses out on the greater gift of wilderness. The truth is, there is hardly a place on the earth that hasn't been seen my humans at one or another time. Nature itself is an unconquerable force of which we are a part, not apart. We are connected to the earth, the plants and animals, the mountains and seas. It is humbling to go outside the walls of civilization, and face the world without all the defenses of technology. Like standing before the ocean or looking up at the stars, it is a reminder of the smallness of my place in it all. A reminder of the limits of power. The wilderness is a place of violent "otherness". It is also a place of familiar "oneness". The stars, the ocean, mountains, deserts, forests, and plains are places of wonder. I like to stand in a place I have never been, see no works of man anywhere in my view and wonder, who has seen this vista before? Who will see it again after I am gone? Am I standing in a place where ancient men worshiped their gods and loved their children? We are made of the same stuff and we are actors in the same story. I was counting tree rings on a log the other day. It was 140 years old when it was cut. Not too far away was a living tree of similar diameter. It sprouted before my great-grandfather was born. All around me were saplings that may well outlive my grandchildren. I was standing on a mountain that has stood for millennia and will continue for millennia more. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. Humility and wonder: these are the gifts of the wilderness. We'd do well to carry those gifts back into civilization.