Where Man Is Only a Visitor

This backcountry of the Smokies is a rare wildland in the East, a place without roads, wires, or houses where people may walk for days largely free of the sights, sounds, and smells of the everyday world. Its value lies not only in its beauty and scientific importance, but also in its quality as a sanctuary for people as well as plants and wildlife. As Harvey Broome wrote, even humanity’s finest dwellings, literature, and relief of physical pain do not substitute for a sunset, a grove of pines, the music of the winds, the dank smell of the deep forest, or the shy beauty of a wild flower.

North Carolina · United States