True silence is unknown state except perhaps to the profoundly deaf. But solitude is possible, though rare. I experienced it once and once only. I didn't recognize it at first, then, suddenly I knew I was truly alone.

I was walking on a beach on Kodiak Island. I had asked for a jeep ride the two miles down to the beach from the satellite tracking station, where I and my compadres were tending a sick bird (satellite).

I looked around and noticed at last what I did not hear, what I did NOT see--that is, any sign of Man. No wisp of smoke, no gum wrappers, no beer bottles, no power lines, no distant susurrus of traffic, NOTHING that spoke of Man or any of his effects.

What provoked this epiphany was the sight of a fellow being--a fox, who paused, seeing me at the same time I saw him. He just stood there head cocked to one side, muzzle uplifted. We continued in companionable silence, each staring at the other, until my furry fellow resumed his steady gait, going from the beach inland.

It was then I saw more than just scenery--beach, sand, rocks, trees, ocean, sky, clouds. For the first time in my life I saw that I was truly ALONE. All the support and comfort of fellow humans was gone. No cry for help or company would be heard. All the support that I unconsciously so relied on--GONE!

And then I had another realization. This was KODIAK ISLAND, home of the justly famous and fierce Kodiak Bear! Grisly bears don't need much provocation to attack humans. One such would be quite another matter than a fox, who in this context was my approximate equal, unarmed as I was. Unarmed for the moment that is. Like a good ape, I immediately got myself a stout 'walking stick' that would have been less than useless against any opponent as formidable as a bear of any variety, but sufficient to put me one up in any tussle with an aggressive, lone canine.

I walked briskly the two miles back to the lonely, high tech human outpost. I was greatly relieved to see the little plume of smoke and steam and hear the low thump of its generators. That was my WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE.


Markham Robinson,
CEO MasterPlan Financial Software
www.masterplanner.com