A Hike Into the "Wild"

There wasn't a car in sight and the path was barely visible beneath a covering of orange and red leaves; it seemed like the perfect place to run into nobody. We stepped into hiking boots, threw on rain coats to deflect the occasional drizzel and stepped on to the path. The leaves was slippery and appeared untouched; it gave me a thrill to think that we were going to experience a part of the woods that had been hidden away from people for so long. 

We walked for 30 minutes barely talking, our eyes looking down for the easiest path over the rocks. Every once in a while we would reach a clearing and we could see rays of sunlight breaking through the dissipating clouds. We could see the small stores and gas stations from the nearby town, but they seemed distant and unconnected to us. It was like the trees had formed a metaphorical barrier between us and society; it could have been straight out a Bill McKibben novel. I felt contained within the forest, and for a few moments nothing really mattered but what was directly in front of me and under my feet. 

If you had asked me at that moment, as we looked out through the tree branches, I would have said that this was my closest experience to being in the "Wild". Throughout the hike my body had created so many endorphins that I felt elated, like I had earned a spot in the wilderness. This feeling lasted for only a moment, however, because the path took a turn and we walked into a sobering scene. The forest opened up and the trees that had accompanied us on our way up were replaced by stumps and fallen branches. The stumps ended so abruptly and cleanly that it must have been the work of machinery, though nothing was there now. My immediate thought was of a graveyard, and the feeling of elation that had overcome me moments before disappeared. I felt guilty, as though the actions of loggers was my fault for depending on the timber they supplied. My spot in the wilderness was revoked, and I was a conquerer instead of a guest. 

All the time that I was looking at the stumps, I couldn't stop thinking about the maps in our Atlas of tree populations declining in much of the Adirondacks. Seeing the clearing in person, the implications of the maps became very real; unless we regulate our use of the land, we will lose much of the wilderness around us. Knowing the joy and escape that wilderness can bring, I hope that we reconsider it as a price to pay for resources.