The case for getting far, far away

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

A great travel essay from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/travel/a-case-for-getting-far-far-away.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=travel&emc=edit_tl_20130518&

 

[highz]

Enjoyed the article (and some of the comments, too). Thanks for posting the link.

 

[takesiteasy]

What does it say about the modern world that we want to get as far away from it as possible whenever we can? I enjoyed the article- it nicely sums up my rationale for buying the camper. I liked one reader's comment in response to the writer wondering what the rich people were doing while he and his friends sat around the campfire drinking beer: they are the rich people!

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Very interesting read.Yes our "rock" is getting crowded but there are still lots of places to get,at least away from the masses.Sometimes you don't have to go to such extremes at least to find some solitude!
Frank

 

[winks]

Very interesting read.Yes our "rock" is getting crowded but there are still lots of places to get,at least away from the masses.Sometimes you don't have to go to such extremes at least to find some solitude!
Frank

Yes, there are still places to go. For us fortunate/lucky/hard-working few. The masses do not have the option. I pity them. I brag about and post pictures of some of the places I have found. Not all of them. My last trip to Patton's Desert Training Center left me distressed because I found footprints from someone else who had been there recently. Man, am I spoiled.

 

[ski3pin]

Mr. Stew, thanks for posting the link to the article. It's nice to read a thoughtful and well written view point. Having come upon moose and bear (including griz) at close quarters, I appreciated "There are few thrills that quite match the electric prickle on the neck that comes from knowing one no longer stands atop the food chain." The closing was well stated, "We spend our days trying to be big. In the middle of nowhere, though, we can surrender to smallness again and instead find where we fit in the landscape. Out there, where there’s nothing, is where there’s the most to learn."

I share an overall theme that mankind benefits from being humbled and put in its place from time to time. Maybe that is what draws me to vast openness and the closest to "untouched" as I can find. I trust the bare naked earth. Old Mom nature is going to win in the end, no matter how we muck it up in the meantime.

 

[winks]

Some of my finest memories involve being on a lower rung in the food chain. Scuba diving at San Clemente island. An awesome untouched area. Back on the boat and there is only the pristine cliffs of the island to see. No man made objects in any direction as far as the eye can see. It's like going back a few million years. There are a few places in the California desert where one can experience exactly the same kind of isolation.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

I glad you guys liked it!

 

[sourdough]

During offseason the lower 48 N.P.'s are overlooked.

 

[Riverrunner]

Thanks for the link.

We just did a 4 day trip through central OR. We managed to get far enough away that for 1.5 days we only saw 6 other rigs and camped in places where we were all alone (even in a FS CG). For 2 days we had no cell service. Gotta love trips like that.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Thanks for the link.

We just did a 4 day trip through central OR. We managed to get far enough away that for 1.5 days we only saw 6 other rigs and camped in places where we were all alone (even in a FS CG). For 2 days we had no cell service. Gotta love trips like that.

Ya, there is some great, remote country out there in Central Oregon. i used to get out there, far, far away from Eugene back when I lived in Eastern Oegon, but that was long before the plush life in the camper. That was back in the bivy, tent and sleeping under the topper days!

 

[Smokecreek1]

It was a nice article, but you don't always have to go a long way to get away ! One of the great reasons for living here in Susanville, is "OUT THERE" is just past the city limits for me. My close in far away place is up at Rocky Point on Eagle Lake (I took Mark BC once there-to civilized for him)) where I just got back from. When I can't make that run up to Oregon, Nevada or the coast it's up to RP year round-not so much during the summer-to many fishermen, but I can always get in, snow/rain is no problem, in the fall, spring, and winter, there is no one else up there-save a few locals, out for quick fish, dog walk, nature viewing, etc., or a lost camper following the campground signs. No water to drink-lot's to watch, but restrooms. I test all my new gear there, before I go adventuring-it's close to a friends house at Bucks Bay, if I need help. Lot's of places to walk or sit back in my strong back chair, have a beer, read and enjoy the views and lack of unwanted sound! I weathered many a stormy night or enjoyed a perfect night out there. Why last time out, the local coyotes dropped by every night to invite "Bob" to dinner! But you don't need to go away to be away all the time, over the years I've created my own little world up here at the snow line in SV, I can sit on my deck or under the oaks & watch the birds and deer, I guess we all have a place to hide -may need it when we can't drive the FWC anymore!

Smoke

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

It was a nice article, but you don't always have to go a long way to get away ! One of the great reasons for living here in Susanville, is "OUT THERE" is just past the city limits for me. My close in far away place is up at Rocky Point on Eagle Lake (I took Mark BC once there-to civilized for him)) where I just got back from. When I can't make that run up to Oregon, Nevada or the coast it's up to RP year round-not so much during the summer-to many fishermen, but I can always get in, snow/rain is no problem, in the fall, spring, and winter, there is no one else up there-save a few locals, out for quick fish, dog walk, nature viewing, etc., or a lost camper following the campground signs. No water to drink-lot's to watch, but restrooms. I test all my new gear there, before I go adventuring-it's close to a friends house at Bucks Bay, if I need help. Lot's of places to walk or sit back in my strong back chair, have a beer, read and enjoy the views and lack of unwanted sound! I weathered many a stormy night or enjoyed a perfect night out there. Why last time out, the local coyotes dropped by every night to invite "Bob" to dinner! But you don't need to go away to be away all the time, over the years I've created my own little world up here at the snow line in SV, I can sit on my deck or under the oaks & watch the birds and deer, I guess we all have a place to hide -may need it when we can't drive the FWC anymore!

Smoke

When I lived in Truckee I used to get to Eagle Lake now and then. Very scenic country up there (even if it is too civilized for Mark). And you're right, Smoke. Far, far away doesn't have to be all that far in miles.

 

[ETAV8R]

Great article. Thanks for posting it up. So true that there are easy escapes all over. I still find the solitude of the desert most rewarding.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

I tend to fancy the deserts myownself, But I quite like the mountains, too.

 

[clikrf8]

Thank-you for the link to this NYT article. It was written by someone who can write. Eloquently. He echoes what I feel. In the late 70s, i fished in Southeast Alaska. We would spend the off-season in remote anchorages, dropping the crab pot for dinner and watching the eagles. My favorite places are the BLM/USFS/DNR areas or obscure monuments. My favorite places on our last trip were Lunar Crater and Flook Lake. Miles from anyone and anywhere. Star-filled skies, quiet stillness, the geology not covered by man's artifacts. Priceless. I am excited for next year's trips: Eastern Oregon again (gonna try again for Alvord), Death Valley and return to Lunar Crater, and remote areas of Southeastern Utah/Northwest New Mexico/Northern Arizona. WtW forum participants know that there are those sacred places that do make you feel humble but simultaneously make you so glad to be alive.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Thank-you for the link to this NYT article. It was written by someone who can write. Eloquently. He echoes what I feel. In the late 70s, i fished in Southeast Alaska. We would spend the off-season in remote anchorages, dropping the crab pot for dinner and watching the eagles. My favorite places are the BLM/USFS/DNR areas or obscure monuments. My favorite places on our last trip were Lunar Crater and Flook Lake. Miles from anyone and anywhere. Star-filled skies, quiet stillness, the geology not covered by man's artifacts. Priceless. I am excited for next year's trips: Eastern Oregon again (gonna try again for Alvord), Death Valley and return to Lunar Crater, and remote areas of Southeastern Utah/Northwest New Mexico/Northern Arizona. WtW forum participants know that there are those sacred places that do make you feel humble but simultaneously make you so glad to be alive.

Yes, clikrf8, the Alvord Desert, MarkBC country. I need to get back there again soon. Have you visited the Black Rock desert yet? It's just a bit to the south.

As for Alaska, I didn't go fishing in the SE but I did work in a canary on Kodiak. On the rare sunny summer's day nobody went to work and what a wonderful green place that was!

 

[Accrete]

yuppers, a nice read.

Cari & I also throw in the mix _timing_. We are fortunate (for our style) in that we are able to take off Monday > Friday once a month. And the other three weeks we have our preferred Wed/Thurs weekend. This allows us to not only go to those places that few venture even on the "Weekends", but our timing also places us in those off-the-beaten-path on most peeps workdays. Our coworkers think we are nuts asking for weekday's off, but it has worked well for us over the last ~25+ years.

 

[clikrf8]

Hi Stew,
We have stopped at Black Desert several times, once in 2012 and this year both times in autumn. Deserts appeal to me as we live in an entirely different area (our acreage has 3' D Cedar and Doug Fir, moss, many fern varieties, year round creek, several ponds and maybe a few glacial erratic boulders). I love that you can see forever and that the sky is so full of stars. I am working on photos from our trip (2k+) and will try to get to those I shot in October. We camped near the playa at Black Rock and watched an elk slowly make his way to the opposite side. We want to return to check out the canyons to the north. We were there during the shutdown so no one home at the Gerlach BLM office and the VC was closed when we drove through town. That area is really remote and we wanted info and more accurate maps before we wandered off too far. We did drive up 34 and Soldier Meadow Road about 10 miles. Nevada is getting to be one of my favorite states because, other than Reno and LV, you rarely encounter traffic or other people. And, once off the highways, you can explore ghost towns, canyons, desert, etc.

Alvord Desert and Steens Mt Loop was on our itinerary but we had a camper malfunction so I guess next fall on way to Yellowstone/Tetons. We are going to Eastern oregon in April for 2-3 weeks so we may sneak in a trip to Alvord (Steens MT Loop closed) when we explore Succor Creek, Leslie Gulch, Owyhee area and Summer lake area (found some cool agates). Maybe we will see you our there.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

yuppers, a nice read.

Cari & I also throw in the mix _timing_. We are fortunate (for our style) in that we are able to take off Monday > Friday once a month. And the other three weeks we have our preferred Wed/Thurs weekend. This allows us to not only go to those places that few venture even on the "Weekends", but our timing also places us in those off-the-beaten-path on most peeps workdays. Our coworkers think we are nuts asking for weekday's off, but it has worked well for us over the last ~25+ years.

Sounds like you've got finding the far, far away wired, Thom!