Unless we can contribute something from our experience ofwilderness solitude, derive some solace or peace to share with others, then the real purpose is defeated.

"Wilderness can be appreciated only by contrast, and solitude understood only when we have been without it.  We cannot separate ourselves from society, comradeship, sharing, and love.  Unless we can contribute something from wilderness experience, derive some solace or peace to share with others, then the real purpose is defeated . . . I have had my share of solitude and know whereof I speak.  It is beautiful to me, for it brings back perspective and the sense of timelessness.  I come back to the friends I have left, stronger, better, and happier than when I went away . . . [M]y perceptions and understanding of life's problems [are] more uncluttered after the cleansing powers of solitude."

Sigurd F. Olson
"Reflections from the North Country"

Photo: A single Subalpine Fir stands silhouetted against a radiant sunset sky; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; November 17, 2012