When was the last time you visited a wilderness area?

Do you prefer a quick visit and a short hike, or do you pack it in?



What kind of a wilderness visit do you prefer?When was the last time you visited a wilderness area?
I've visited the Paria Canyon - Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area for the past two years in a row, as day hikes to visit and photograph "The Wave".



In the past I spent a fair amount of time in the Ansel Adams, Emigrant, Carson-Iceberg, and the John Muir Wilderness areas. I tended to backpack in over a 3 or 4 day weekend, but also took a few 1 week trips. Catching trout and cooking them over a fire kept my load reasonable, making the longer trips practical.



Lately however I've favored car camping in national parks and monuments, national forests, and on BLM land. Whenever possible I use 4WD and high clearance to get away from the crowds (including the crowds in designated wilderness areas). I've been spending a lot of time in the Southern Utah desert country (off season when it's not too hot).



One of the reasons I made the switch was the increasingly strict regulations on fixed itineraries and campfires (often banned above a certain elevation), and the recent trend of exterminating wild trout in the Sierras to benefit frogs (a touching gesture towards frogs, who are declinging worldwide, but in multiple extensive searches I have been unable to find a single paper documenting a frog population rebound as a result). I can no longer count on fish providing some of my meals, so additional food is required. A stove and fuel adds weight. A bear cannister adds weight. Wilderness has become land reserved for 20 and 30 year olds, only the able-bodied ones with no mobility challenges (such as bad knees), no heart conditions, etc.



On a more subtle level, without fishing the landscape seems sterile and more disassociated from me. I'm an observer, isolated and removed from the local ecosystem, not a participant. That violates my world view. Holding nature like something set aside in a glass case is an "all or nothing" model that promotes overprotection in some areas and serious abuse in the unprotected areas. The lack of a reasonable middle ground subtlely prevents people from experiencing the concept of a sustainable ecosystem firsthand. I don't feel the same connection simply being in and looking at the landscape.



This summer I'll be returning to wilderness areas in the Sierras for photography (I'd like to visit some of the areas that Ansel Adams photographed), but the added weight and the need to recharge batteries may limit the trips to 3-4 days.
I want to go to Precipice Lake on the High Sierra Trail out of Crescent Meadows in Sequoia:

http://www.hctc.commnet.edu/ar鈥?/a>

http://flickr.com/photos/paige鈥?/a>

19 miles in, and I don't think mules are a practical option.

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When was the last time you visited a wilderness area?
I like three day camping trips. I hike about ten to 12 miles then set up camp. I prefer to hike and camp in the woods.
Last season was the last time I visited a wilderness area. I prefer to make a camping trip out of it. However, if I can only get there for a day hike, I'll take it.
I helped on a Missouri Cave Fish DNA Survey 5 - 24/26 - 2008

I Hike in and always pack it both ways.

1st cave - 10 fish

2nd cave -2 fish Pioneer Forest of the L-A-D Foundation.

3rd cave - 0 fish Sink hole in the Black river drainage Poplar

Bluff District of the Mark Twain National Forest.

4th cave - 3 fish Eleven Point District of the Mark Twain National Forest