Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed yesterday’s hike. As I mentioned during our mountaintop discussion, our trip gave me an opportunity to escape the often overbearing Lafayette bubble and retreat into the environment where I feel most alive.

Although this hike was similar to countless other hikes that I’ve done, I found myself more aware of the abundance of people on the trail. I noticed how packed down the trail itself was and how at times, our rest points felt more like a Manhattan intersection than a protected wilderness reserve. It was great to see so many people out enjoying “nature,” but the packed wilderness area really drove home Cronon’s argument that man and nature cannot exist separately.

Another funny moment for me occurred when the large group behind us emerged onto the first ledge. Without a moment of hesitation, one of the teenagers in the group exclaimed “This view is nothing, I’ve been to the grand canyon!” I couldn’t help but laugh as this notion was almost identical to many of the discussions that we have had in class this year. Can we really place different levels of value on different “wilderness” locations? I found it amusing that this individual was so quick to brush off the beauty of the moment with a comparison of one piece of nature being better than another. I guess I’ve always placed value on the moment and place that I am in rather than comparing one place to another.

One final thought from that kid’s exclamation ties back into our most recent paper topic, Nature as Cathedral. Had the roles been reversed, and Panther Mountain was dubbed one of America’s most splendid national parks (instead of the Grand Canyon) would that kid have had the same reaction? Was he looking at the his trips for the experience in nature or for the title and reputation that they carry? Something to consider…