Do the signs we post change the reality they define? Yes and no. Traveling past the above marker I noticed no discernible change in the terrain. Closer inspection of the small type indicated that the Federal government had a different set of regulations defining the appropriate use of the land on either side of the marker. It was the limitations placed on human behavior at this place that was signified, not so much a definition or valuing of place.
An insight from the Feds: wilderness gets defined as no motorized vehicles allowed. I also noticed heading just a little further into Ice Box Canyon, that the wireless coverage failed, and recognized the appropriateness of moving off the grid in that way as well.
And indeed, crossing this threshold in my own experience heightened my sensation, so much so that I was able to approach an unsuspecting desert bighorn sheep without sending it crashing away.
Wilderness gets me out of my head in a manner that I’ve not found elsewhere.
Which brings me to the thought that’s been slowly emerging from the back recesses of my mind. Each blog post can be constructed to provide a threshold. This idea gets monetized when people stress calls to action, which gets distilled down to calls to buy. (Note: even joining a free service means you’re buying a terms of agreement.)
So how might the blog post be a gateway or a passage to a new reality for the reader?
Flood Waters
Catch the Wave
...along the Devil's Path
Heading to the Left Bank