Where is the remotest spot in the United States

[Steve]

I found an interesting article on BBC this morning, about how a Florida couple, tired of the rat race, decided to plot out and visit the remotest spot in each of the lower 48.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42104894

What I was surprised to read, was that in a country as huge as the United States, how hard it is to find someplace truly remote. Even in some of the western states you can only get a handful of miles away from some sort of road.

What do you think? Was their methodology of only using distance from any sort of road a valid criteria? I wondered if the results would be similar if they used population centers on a graduated scale for size.


(Photo copyright The Means Family)

 

[Snagglet]

Great article. Given their parameters that includes ‘any’ road, it is not a surprise. Almost every reachable foot of this country has had someone in it at one time or another.

There are parts here in Utah that I most definitely would not want to breakdown in as the nearest populated area is many, many miles (100+ - quick guess) away.

Plenty of remote areas to find peace and quiet out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[soonersfan]

It seems like roads and population centers would tie together pretty well but I could be wrong. There are probably multiple ways to look at it. With the advent of satellites, cell phones, airplanes, etc. remote may not really exist in the lower 48 anymore. I'm not saying that is bad or good, just inevitable. It might depend on how you define remote. Is remote the furthest distance from population or the furthest time from population?

To figure out what is most the remote, you might have to ask yourself where it would be the most difficult to survive or what is the most difficult place to get to. For instance, if you were in trouble and sent out an SOS on your satellite phone, where would it be the most difficult or take the longest time for help to get to you? The answer to that question is probably what I would define as the most remote.

Regardless, this family's interest in finding remote places seems to be a great outlet and exercise for them. Its pretty awesome to see a family sharing a passion and enjoying each other and nature the way they are. Im not sure, I would do a 7.5 mile hike to find a remote spot on a gps. There is no way I'd do 75 miles. That is dedication.

 

[MBroenkow]

"remotest" or "most remote"?

 

[soonersfan]

"remotest" or "most remote"?

most remotest

 

[MBroenkow]

mostest remotest

 

[VCeXpedition]

Pretty interesting article. This family has a passion and are zealous about their point of view of it.
It's cool to hear how they arrived at each point using her expertise.

I notice that they don't show any vehicle to get to the closest point before they start hiking... or did they hike all the way from Florida?

They say that new roads shouldn't be built in wild places, I have to agree. Mostly.
This is a country of great resources, we need to be very careful about how we...
1. consume and exploit those resources
2. manage those resources for as many as want to, can see and experience them. For generations to come.

I have hiked (on my two feet) to King's peak in Utah, the highest point there.
Not a huge accomplishment, but I felt pretty good about it.
I had to drive to a trailhead in a capable car to start my hike. On a road that someone put there.
I was glad for that road so I didn't have to walk the entire distance!

I felt remote, and thoroughly enjoyed the journey and the destination (yes, you can do both!).

We all need to remember that stewardship of our wild places is all of our responsibility.
If you see someone leave trash in a parking lot (I have pictures!), either tell them to pick it up, or pick it up yourself.

If you see a campsite that is trashed, be prepared to reconcile it, don't leave it trashed for the next person to worry about.

Be responsible, remind others of their stewardship.

Rant over.

 

[Wanderlost]

The plumbing isle at Home Depot when you need assistance. :)

 

[OffroadTreks]

Likely based on the research they are using roads loosely and including forest and service roads. And triangulating most likely. I did some rough estimates based on their use of Yellowstone looking between 14 & 26. Given that there are hundreds of miles of land, my guess is they are basing it on how far something is from any road or path.

It is 21.7 miles from a road, and required a week-long, 75-mile hike to get there and back. The spot itself is 0.7 miles uphill from the nearest trail.

I don't think some people understand how vast areas actually are and what is capable on foot. 21 miles might be fast in a car. But I've been places like the Wind Rivers where a 15 mile hike really is pretty damn remote and town is an hour away. But if you break a leg out there, you very well could die.

These people seem like they should go wander Siberia.

But in Wyoming, and other remote spots, there was a tinge of disappointment.

Rebecca and Ryan are purists. They want to find places as nature intended; untouched by human hand.

Sadly, they say, they haven't found one since the Alaska trip in 2004.

"We were sitting in the Wyoming remote spot, and there was a cabin five-tenths of a mile away," says Ryan.

"You just did not feel as remote as you wanted to be, given the seven days it took to haul your ass in and out of there."

Should probably stop trying to triangulate spots and hating your fellow man and try enjoying it out there. Just because there are forest roads and service roads doesn't mean you're not remote.

And the reason why you found a cabin is probably because your methods of finding "remote" spots is totally flawed.

Rebecca and Ryan are purists. They want to find places as nature intended; untouched by human hand.

They want to find these places, then trample all over them.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

When I was a kid, my Dad took me hunting out around Bend Oregon somewhere.

I remember standing on a hill/mountain , whatever and it seemed like I could see for a hundred miles in every direction and there was no other sign of life except us. A long time ago, but a very cool place, wherever it was.

 

[Longshot270]

Hmmm, while I've used their method to find interesting places, I wouldn't call it the best method.

They won't find what they want in the US because part of the population wants to cluster together, the other part wants to get away from each other and everyone wants the freedom to travel easily.

If they want to feel remote they need to get on a boat and follow the compass outside of water and air shipping lanes until the phones don't work. It wasn't until I went deep sea fishing that I felt "remote" and I've hunted in the mountains, swamps and everywhere in between.

 

[Steve]

"remotest" or "most remote"?

Most remote. But I used ( and continued to use) the term in the article for consistency. It bugged me, too. [emoji6]