What state (excluding Alaska) or states has the most remote wilderness(untapped territory). The kind of wilderness you can go miles upon miles without seeing any modern civilization.
And who has ever wanted to hunt it.
The U.P. here in michigan has some remote areas.
Well, I cant speak for the US, but I hunted northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories and its like the rest of the world doesnt exist.
Some areas of Northern Maine are pretty remote, but logging is forever creeping in.
The Absaroka/Beartooth in southern Montana is very high, very rugged and much of it very remote.
Idaho...Frank Church River of No Return
I don't know,but lets go :D
I went to the Bob Marshall (Montana) last September, a midwestern boys dream.
I think the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho is the largest in the lower 48. You can go for weeks in either the Bob Marshall, Lee Metcalf, or Absaroka without seeing civilization. I haven't hunted the Frank Church in over twenty years but did annually before moving to Montana; don't think it has changed much. Haven't hunted the Bob yet but hunt the both the Lee Metcalf and Absaroka/Beartooth most years.
My grandmother was born and raised in the middle of the Frank Church, before it was a wilderness. My grandfather and her had a homestead there before it mysteriously burned shortly after they made it into a wilderness.
Sorry for the rant. One item on my bucket list is to take a pack string of mules back into the old homestead, find grandpas mine, find my uncles mine (just to see where they are), and then spend the fall hunting and fishing using the homestead as a base camp.
I seem to recall hearing that the Eagle's Cap Wilderness is a pretty honking big piece of real estate down there too.
Up here we are blessed with huge areas like the Sacred Headwaters and the Muskwa Kechika, just for starters.
Here you go.
Where is the largest area of contiguous wilderness?
In this context, contiguous means wilderness land that is unbroken by any exempted corridors. In Alaska, the Noatak and Gates of the Arctic Wildernesses (12,743,329 acres) make up the largest area of unbroken wilderness. In the lower 48 states, the largest area of unbroken wilderness is found in Idaho's Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (approximately 2,300,000 acres)
Wow!!!
Walt that sounds like a trip of a lifetime!!
If alaska is out, then eagle cap wilderness in eastern oregon would be a good one. Also close to john day wilderness and some easy to disapear in areas out of granite oregon.
Hey there, first post here. Hi from Ohio!
I haven't done anything archery related in a long time...looking to get back into it. My primary hobby is shooting firearms, but I can't do that so easily in the city and it's getting expensive for ammunition (ESPECIALLY NOW!). Planning on picking up a nice longbow from the classifieds or from one of the makers I've see on here.
Anyways, so as as remote areas, I've explored a bit of Northwestern Montana and also Maine. NW Montana is by far the most remote place I've been, but Maine is pretty close. Walked out on a rocky beach one time and my girlfriend and I didn't realize how far we'd gone. The woods in Maine are really beautiful too, especially near the beaches.
Montana was everything I'd ever dreamed of for camping or for anything outdoors really.
Everything there is crazy gorgeous. Here's a picture I took backpacking out there last summer. For an example of how expansive it is out there - I live in Ohio, and my city has over twice the amount of people living in it as the whole state of MT has! This picture was taken after hiking 8 miles into the wilderness (going mostly up).
(I think I sized it correctly)
(http://i.imgur.com/bjy6ll.jpg)
I'm in lets go, Just got my new hiking backpack today I'll start loading it up.
QuoteOriginally posted by Walt Francis:
I think the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho is the largest in the lower 48. You can go for weeks in either the Bob Marshall, Lee Metcalf, or Absaroka without seeing civilization. I haven't hunted the Frank Church in over twenty years but did annually before moving to Montana; don't think it has changed much. Haven't hunted the Bob yet but hunt the both the Lee Metcalf and Absaroka/Beartooth most years.
My grandmother was born and raised in the middle of the Frank Church, before it was a wilderness. My grandfather and her had a homestead there before it mysteriously burned shortly after they made it into a wilderness.
Sorry for the rant. One item on my bucket list is to take a pack string of mules back into the old homestead, find grandpas mine, find my uncles mine (just to see where they are), and then spend the fall hunting and fishing using the homestead as a base camp.
I'm young and healthy. When do we leave?
Eagle caps gets a lot of hunting preasure and you run into or see a lot of people while hunting that area... I have done it a few times but got tired of all the people so now hunt other areas here in OR.
I would love to check out the Bob marshal wilderness!
That sounds amazing, Walt.
+1 for Maine. Never been on the ground other than Bangor but everytime I flew over was a reawakening of what I love about America. Truly beautiful country seemingly untouched.
arnhemland in the northern territory here in australia. it's a very wild place.
also the southern alps in new zealand.
i just love the word wilderness!
Here is a list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_wilderness_areas_in_the_United_States
I would love to hunt most of them.
My close by wilderness is the Cloud Peak. I wouldn't call it especially remote, but it is really rugged and can keep your heartrate up.
The Washakie Wilderness in NW Wyoming is one of my favorite places. The Absaroka Mts. are still fairly wild and wooly.
I love the Ferris Mts in central Wyoming; steep, rugged, windy as hell, but beautiful.
But it all pales in comparison to the Alaska Range near Denali. That will spoil you for the lower 48.
Let's go. :campfire:
Variety is the spice of life. I think the Frank Church is "biggest", but every wilderness area has it's special appeal. As one who has the Absaroka-Beartooth literally outside my backdoor...I love to check out other places, and even some smaller "haunts" and hidey-holes all over the country. New places and new adventures...that's the fun of it.
x2 mark
Would love to do Idaho someday. Northern Alberta is absolutely amazing.
Colorado has lots of empty space.
I'll join you, just have to retire from the Marine Corps first.
Nevada has remote aNd isolated areas. I drive up to the sign and then hike into the remote areas. Lots of lazy people on quads outside of wilderness areas, not many once you are an hour into it
Montana and Idaho are the two states that you want to look at.
Technically, California has the biggest wilderness in the lower 48, but Death Valley isn't anywhere I need to go.
Then you have the Frank Church in Idaho, and right North of there you have the Selway Bitterroot.
Montana has a lot of true wilderness too. The Bob Marshall Complex (The Bob, Scapegoat, and Great Bear) Then Like Mark said, we have the AB, and also the Lee Metcalf.
The Bob Marshall is where I hang out. The whole complex is somewhere around 1.5 million acres. The "backcountry" districts get hammered in their early rifle season, and game numbers are really low. But it's some of the most gorgeous country in the world, and I just enjoy being a hillbilly in the middle of nowhere.
QuoteOriginally posted by Biathlonman:
I went to the Bob Marshall (Montana) last September, a midwestern boys dream.
That was a fun trip.
Technically the most remote area is the thorofare in the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. I believe it's 30 miles in every direction to the nearest road.
Upper sierras and our desserts. But you will work your buns off to see deer.
I do hunt it. Where though. I can't tell where :bigsmyl:
Before I got to old to do it anymore my brother and I would pack into the West Elk Wilderness in Colorado. Absolutely beautiful country and lots of elk! We would be in there 10 days and never see another human. That's been about 20 years ago. I would like to know if anyone could tell me if it's still that way. Best times of my life, really glad I got to do it.
The "Bob" is amazing...I did a two week trip as a teenager across it with a backpack. And considering that it's connected with Glacier and even up into Waterton Parks makes it all the more "awesome", in scope of size and wondrous beauty!
I have also longed to do a trip by canoe into the boundary waters area of Minnesota, Wisconsin and into Canada....another great area (from what I've read and dreamed about).
I've hunted Hells Canyon wilderness in Oregon at least a dozen times and last September I hunted the Weneha wilderness in Washington.
While these areas are not huge by comparison to some others they are very large and absolutley some of the steepest roughest terrain you will encounter anywhere. At one point Hells Canyon is over 7000 foot elevation change from rim to river.Both areas are very game rich with lots of elk, bears and deer.
John