Let's just admit it: There's not any true wilderness in the eastern half of the country. You might get lost in the woods--even very lost. You might never be found, like that poor old woman in Maine who stepped off the Appalachian Trail and never found her way back. But the rule of thumb in this region is this: When you're lost, head downhill. You'll eventually hit a moving body of water; follow it downstream. In time, any river or stream will lead you to a road or a railroad. The road might not be paved, but it'll take you to people. A little research tells me that the remotest place in New York State is in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, and it's 5.7 miles from the nearest road. The remotest spot in West Virginia is comparable, deep in the Cranberry Glades Wilderness. Maryland doesn't have much in the way of mountainous isolation, but it does have some overlooked islands in the Chesapeake Bay that are far from any visitor or road. Even the interior of Maine's Baxter State Park is only 6 miles from the nearest road. How does Pennsylvania compare? The Hammersley Wild Area is a protected wilderness within the Susquehannock State Forest, in the Northcentral part of the state. Hammersley is a 30,000 acre expanse of forests and upland meadows. But even at that, its remotest reaches are only 2.7 miles from the nearest road. I think I want to do a few nights at Hammersley, but the summer is all booked up and rapidly fading. Maybe in the fall--which might be batter anyway.
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