OregonMouse,

How do you define "the wilderness?" It always sounds like "the ecology" or some other dated phrase. The Wilderness Act has come criteria, but I always have liked "greater than five miles from the nearest dirt road."

If you really feel more comfortable in the backcountry, why don't you live there ? For many people it is a fantasy that evaporates after the first heavy snowfall. The solitude we all value as a contrast to our regular lives becomes overwhelming quickly, like in a month. Have you ever had any friends that had become "bushy" (mentally challenged by too much time alone)? It is a sorry condition for any human. As a species we are much more social than most of us backpackers realize or care to admit.