Solitude – A precious thing
Anyone who has read some of my “stuff” might conclude my favorite campground or forest feature is solitude. They would be correct. I look for and enjoy solitude when and where I can find it. To me, experiencing solitude can “recharge my batteries” and completely adjust any negative manure going on in my life.
While Fred and I were researching the Tongass NF (2008), we had a wonderful oppor
tunity – a day long boat trip in Lynn Channel, the waters around Juneau, AK. We left the noise and crowds of ferry boats and cruise ship and headed for places our “captain” know about. These were special places were seal lions basked in the sun, humpback whales glide along looking for tasty snacks, and rocky beaches have little evidence of human visitors. It was amazing. Solitude might be found around every turn. The day was one of the highlights of our time in the Tongass.
It also illustrated a problem the Tongass must deal with – a continuing loss of solitude. The Tongass NF is being “found” by more and more people each year, all looking for the very thing than make the Tongass a special place – Solitude.
One problem the Forest Service must deal with is defining just what is solitude to all people. Do you define solitude as the absence of others? Or maybe it’s a place where all the sounds are made by nature? Others might say “solitude” is being in a place were no human “foot prints” are visible.
The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States and consists of the largest piece of contiguous temperate rainforest in the world held under public ownership. So how big is it? The Tongass is 16.9 million acres and has over 2,000 islands with 
14,000 miles of coastline. And therein is the problem. While the Tongass has purvey over the land, it has no say over how the surrounding water is used. With few roads and no bridges connecting islands, water is the primary route taken if you want to see any of the Tongass. Kayakers can paddle up a fjord to an apparent isolated patch of rocky beach only to find an hour later the area populated by half a dozen boats running their generators. In my opinion, an even worse event would be to have on gleaming white behemoth of a cruise ship, its loudspeakers describing the natural wonders of the Tongass, to pass by.
It’s a delicate balance that the Tongass must find. Exposing visitors to wilderness, even from the deck of a cruise ship, can produce an advocate for beauty, wonder, and unique qualities of our national forests. However, does this mean a loss solitude, of that essential and unique quality of our national forests? Is the Tongass heading to the same place as national forests in the lower 48 were visitors expect to encounter multiple groups and enduring camping near other parties? Let’s hope not.
