Can Wilderness be found on a trail? 11-1-22

 Finding Wilderness has a theme that defining wilderness erases the very thing we attempt to understand which could also translate into a complexity and overarching understanding of what wilderness means to each individual personally. Dr. Redick ponders the question of when humans start marching into the wild searching for salvation and how long the wild itself will be preserved.  This relates to how humans tend to domesticate the places they inhabit. A prime example of this human domestication that we have discussed from our course is that if an individual goes onto the Appalachian Trail, they may mistreat the trail and truly alter its natural dimensions in a negative way. Dr. Redick does an excellent job constantly portraying the respect one must carry with themselves onto these treasured trails in nature.  I also think that Finding Wilderness uncovers some of these important perspectives about how one should interact with nature. Dr. Redick states, “​​for the tourist, the countryside, as landscape, is no less human than the others: it is a ‘painting’ and its existence depends on the lyric conditions that man wishes and is able to mobilize.” This quote relays the overall message that some tourists do appreciate, respect, and withhold an important relationship with nature. This may be rare, however; it is just as important to acknowledge compared to those who disrespect nature. This reasoning relates back to how individuals have both respectful and then poor relationships with nature. Dr. Redick ponders if it is helpful that an individual lives in harmony with nature to be environmentally responsible. He questions what it means when culture and nature are at opposite extremes of each other.  The word nature is complex, but it is also important to acknowledge that getting back to nature is getting back to something original that precedes culture. From my understanding, I believe that Dr. Redick believes that using the words wilderness and nature should be synonymous. He questioned the class: don’t you have nature as part of you? My answer would be yes absolutely - human nature. The ethic of going out into wilderness, instead of nature, and leaving it untouched, rather than altering it into something we want it to be for ourselves should be a better understood ideal by society. I believe this excerpt was quite thought provoking as our course themes were tied in and similarly, quite depressing, as the realization hits just how dysfunctional our relationship with both nature and the wild has become.