Some very well-written thoughts.  Kudos to all.  For the past couple years, I've been trying to explain to family and friends the allure of canoe country.  Living now in Ohio (but always a Minnesota native) I don't meet many who've experienced the BWCAW and Quetico, let alone ever gone on a canoe trip.  When I try to explain why I do it every summer (and why I fight through the weather and bugs and rigors), the reactions I get range from, "That sounds so cool" to "Huh?" to "That's crazy!  Who do you talk to for a week when you solo?".

I think the allure of this adventure starts with this thing called the wilderness concept.  I too believe it is more a state of mind than anything physical--it's almost a spiritual sense that allows us to understand why wilderness can be an important part of our lives. 

When I begin my trips each year, especially a solo trip, I usually find myself nervous the first day or two.  I worry I may have left something important behind, or may have left something behind on the last portage or campsite, or perhaps I'll get sick, or fall and injure myself and maybe have a real tough time making it out.  Then, as I gain more distance from the crowds, things get quieter and calmer and I begin to settle into nature's rhythm.  My nervousness changes to contentment and profound pleasure.  Then comes that realization that as humans we are very small and almost inconsequential in the wilderness that surrounds us, to the planet we live on, and the stars and galaxies we see in the night sky.  Not that we aren't special in God's eyes, but just that in the physical universe, we aren't much.  Sitting quietly and simply observing nature in the BWCAW or Quetico brings a real humbling feeling.  And I'm truly thankful for that feeling--absolute joy that I have the opportunity to sit on this rock, at this time in my life, and gaze at the water, the trees, the sky, the wildlife and the stars.  And when that happens, and it always does eventually, I realize the rat race back home in the "civilized" world is not as important as some would make it seem. 

And maybe that's why wilderness and its concept is important.  It helps us keep life in perspective, to cherish the relationships we have with our family and friends, and be good stewards on earth while we are still here.

I agree with HoHo and Snow_Dog as well...

...wilderness is a state of mind.

When we remember that man is an animal, separated from the rest of the kingdom animalia only by the scope and power of his abstract thought, and that each man is privy to the same fears and instincts of his distant ancestors, one doesn't have to look far into the eyes of his brothers to see his own wild beginnings.

To a man without the material possessions of modern civilization, even the greatest metropolis can be a wilderness, whose dangers are often greater than those found in other places untouched by human hands.

And whether one lives in that metropolis, or in a mountain forest beyond the edge of civilization, the ties that bind us to the Earth are equally as strong.

What concerns me when I ponder the future is not how we define wilderness, in terms of spatial dimensions and other such physical specifications, but rather, how we interpret What It Means to us as a species of humans. Without wilderness, life itself is regular; it is methodic, monotonous, predictable, and without joy.

Losing the wilderness in terms of acreage is not what worries me. It's losing the concept of wilderness, the idea of wilderness, and the certain priceless ideals and values which have stemmed from an evolutionary cycle spent trying to survive within it. Self sufficiency, empathy, compassion, patience and perseverance... when the idea of wilderness is gone, what is the next chapter for our species? Where is our future?

Even in the BWCA, squatting at a dedicated campsite which offers a steel fire grate and a latrine, one can still be as alone as one desires.

To the solo traveler, any stretch of quiet water or rugged trail is as great a wilderness as his mind allows it to be.

Great perspective and understanding from an 8 year old. Listen and the young shall tell ye. (I made that quote up.)

Tim

I asked my eight year old boy this afternoon-he has done somewhere between 8 and ten trips in the BW...What is wildeness?  He responded to me by saying to me,  "it is Woods, pretty, exotic, unknown, big, untouched, quiet,  and full of life"....and then comes running back to me an says,"oh yah it is dangerous". So there is some young perspective 4 ya all

Nice photo indeed. Remember Ectachrome? Great film, now go by the wayside.

Tim

I'm looking at a 1967 edition of Naturalist magazine, Vol 18, number 1, titled "Perpetuating Wilderness."  It has a beautiful Les Blacklock ektachrome photo on the front cover titled "Canoe Country"

Considing the timing of this issue, and the establishment of the BWCAW, it's a classic issue with classic articles and authors writing about what wilderness means to them; Aldo Leopold, Daniel Henning; Wilderness... it's meaning to man; Sig F. Olson on the value of wilderness; L. D. Frenzel and L. David Mech, article on wolfs; J. Quinn article on owls; Charles H. Stoddard; Wilderness Canoe Country, controversy; along with tons of classic glossy pictures.

My own perspective: I've lived in places where access to nature is limited; or lakes with limited access.  I've always had a need to appreciate being able to get away to canoe country to absorb the spirit of the wilderness.  My footnote Sig Olson quote sums it up for me.

That Lunar/Moon to Cherry portage is insane...nipple high there...biggest that I have ever seen in MN. We vacuum bag the TP, works to shrink it down and keep it dry....Off topic.

Watch for poison ivy! A friend made a terrible mistake a few years back.

Tim

My last trip I learned to ID the NOLS approved moss that replaces TP. Works great too.

TP, just one more thing I don't need to carry.

TP flowers, fishing line, bandaids, wet wipe wrapers, plastic candy wrappers, map and compass, paddle, fish hooks, tent stakes, para cord, tin foil, half burnt watermelon rind, etc, etc, etc These are just some of the things that the boy and I found on our last trip.  Stuff that torques me...but then I can see the Oaks between Swamp and Sag. and I think that it's really neat-they are there because they were planted by people the same ones that left there "graffiti" that we oogle over and books are written about. "Wilderness" is about perspective...it is interesting to hear the perspectives on this thing. I am sure that I would oogle over hunting blinds and the like in the far north...Maybe it is just the "GROSS" factor...TP flowers are gross...but there is nothing like sitting down in the appropriate place , after that morning cup, listening to the sparrows doing their northern serenade...the relief....the woods and water....just a different perspective. Pond water anyone, its filtered?