Where do you find your Wilderness?

¡Hola a todos!

As I sit here in a small coffee shop in Puerto Natales, watching the rain (and almost sleet) come down from outside the window on this cold Friday day it’s making me ponder the question to what do you define as “wilderness?” We already have the image etched in our minds, it’s just a matter of defining what that picture looks like. I want you to take a few seconds to think over this perception you have before you continue to read. It comes in all forms and in all locations, but only you can make yourself believe what you call the great outdoors.

This past Tuesday was our first expedition as a group to a small mountain 10 minutes outside the town called Dorotea (as seen above). It was a wonderful break from the long classroom hours we have been spending the past week or so. Along with being outside of the classroom, it was also the first opportunity to have lecture on a mountain (now i’ll take that any day). They told us that the windy season was starting, but until you are out there in the field you don’t realize how strong the wind can actually be. It was difficult to stand up at times and not be blown off the side. It was actually kinda funny as you make sure the person doesn’t get blown off the mountain in front of you haha. During our 2ish hour trek we stopped 3 times to make observations of some of the things we had been learning about in class (i.e. rock faces, lichen, tree parasites, Andean condors, and anything else that stood out). During the last stop – close to the top – we stopped to take a group rainbow picture with all our different color jackets with an actual rainbow behind us and to eat lunch. We ate sandwiches and trail mix while we listened to the lecture about one of the readings we had read for this week which dealt with wilderness and how Americans perceive it. You think you know what it is and what it’s not… but do you really? Is it something that has massive waterfalls, huge rock faces, towering trees, or maybe a collection of vast mountain ranges? Or it simply something that is away from the hurried city life? Since most of us here on this study abroad have some type of an environmental major or a minor we thought we knew how to define it, but after this article by William Cronon called “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” all our minds had changed a little bit or strengthened a little more. After many discussions and hearing different peoples views on this same topic I’ve come the realization that for me I define the wilderness as: a place (either mentally or physically) where I can get lost in from the busy agendas of the world we live in. For me, this can take many forms from hanging my feet off the side of a mountain deep inside the Appalachian mountains, reading a book in my hammock tied up in a tree at the local park, or simply opening a window in the city and taking a huge deep breath of fresh air. Nature (or whatever you want to call it) is all around us… you’re taking a breath of oxygen right now as you read this. That’s the breath of Mother Nature. You just have to be conscious of your own mind and take a look around.

Is it wrong to fly across the country to go see the huge natural geysers in Yellowstone to indulge in some personal wilderness? No. But, something I want you to think about is what makes you feel as if you are in the outdoors? Does that include skiing in the Alps, or taking a stroll around your neighborhood and seeing squirrels eating acorns and birds flying from tree-to-tree, or maybe going rock climbing with friends at a man-made course. No matter what activity you are doing, I think it’s important to be aware of the mental state that activity is putting you in and how it makes you feel both before and afterwards. One of my goals for this semester abroad is to continuously challenge myself with the beliefs I have and why I have them. There is SO much more out there than you realize, and it all starts with self-awareness and growing from your past experiences to make you into the better person you’re going to be. So go enjoy some wilderness for yourself, whatever that may look like. I know I am going to – since tomorrow we leave for a 5 day cruise to Tierra del Fuego in southernmost Patagonia to see Cape Horn (southern most tip of South America), the Strait of Magellan, Ushusia, huge glacier fjords, penguins, and hopefully a few different species of whales and sea lions.

Happy adventuring!

Luke