How Wild

Not everything fits into neat little boxes. Sometimes you have to check "other."

What are other perspectives on wilderness?

We visit the country's first tribal wilderness in the Mission Mountains of Montana to hear how it's managed by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe.

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Do you have all your gear to head into nature? What about your smartphone?

Technology helps people access wilderness, but it can also get in the way.

We're hitting the Pacific Crest Trail with hikers and a Search and Rescue team who have mixed feelings about technology in wilderness, and we meet a recreator who wouldn't be able to be here without it.

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Do you have a permit?

We're going to a popular trail in Colorado's Maroon Bells to talk about the slippery feeling of solitude and what to do about more people on the trail.

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We're tired from hiking and taking a break at an art museum to ponder how nature got framed.

We're exploring how artists like Ansel Adams and thinkers like John Muir shaped Americans' ideas of what "authentic nature" should look like and who belongs in it."

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What do you mean by "undeveloped" — weren't there people living here?

We're wading through rivers in the nation's first wilderness in New Mexico's Gila National Forest to learn how the idea of capital "W" Wilderness came to be.

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Untrammeled. No, that's not a typo. We don't mean untrampled.
Wilderness areas are supposed to remain free from human intervention unless absolutely necessary. But in a world where every part of the planet is affected by climate change, how do we decide when to intervene? We're heading off-trail in Sequoia National Park with land managers and environmentalists who are at odds.

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Put on your hiking shoes. Pack some water and snacks. We're heading out on trails around the West to explore the meaning of wilderness and how it's changing.

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