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.