I'd just like to point out that the sound of rushing water or wind in trees tend to limit the distance at which human noises will travel, but on a quiet night next to a lake every sound will travel amazingly. I've easily heard conversations and laughter from a quarter mile away across still water. When I am trying to sleep, I do not care how beautifully a guitar is played; it is unwanted noise that disturbs and annoys me.

My strongest memory of a long solo hike on the PCT, hiked mostly through lightly populated areas and never leaving the trail for resupply, was the wonderful opportunity to listen all day and night to only natural, non-human sounds for three solid weeks. When people asked me about the hike afterward, this was what I most wanted to tell them about.