Entering the Wilderness

As earth begins to further industrialize, the need for unoccupied land space continues to escalate. Using the experiences gained from this class, along with a combination of wilderness ethics, and outside research, I will develop my own definition of wilderness. After generating this definition, I will confront the problem (maybe use conundrum) of balancing the needs of everyone with the finite amount of land available. The Wilderness Writing seminar enabled students to experience many educational and awesome things such as hiking on Grandfather Mountain, climbing up the Hebron Rock Colony, canoeing and kayaking on the Roanoke River, and collecting sharks’ teeth at Green Spring’s Park. As we participated in these experiences, each student began to develop their own meaning of wilderness, and humans’ role in it. The development of our personal wilderness was not limited to these experiences, as every good scientist knows one must find research to back their findings, and with that mindset the class also reach various opinions and facts about wilderness. At first my definition of wilderness was like the general definition- any large tract of land that functioned without humans- bringing forth mind images such as the South American rainforest, Siberia, or Antarctica. The transformation of my wilderness definition began in the midst of hiking Grandfather Mountain. When we reached the top of the mountain and I saw the vast landscape filled with trees, houses, and mountains, I realized that humans do have a place among nature. I was not convinced, however, that Grandfather Mountain was synonymous with wilderness. When one can drive straight to the top of the mountain and get the same view that I had hiked hours to achieve, then perhaps it is not true wilderness. To me, it was as if the mountain had been tainted and marred by humans in their eagerness to attain and capture beauty.