From my personal experience, it is not until one is truly lost that the value in sense of place is noticed. When peaks are no longer distinguishable and fog covers the water, that is when nature proves its dominance and reminds travelers that their presence is just another speck of dust in the wind. Human nature’s minuteness in comparison to the vastness of mother nature, from her wide mountain ranges to the endless seas that disappear into her horizon, has proved that ever sense the beginning of time people have been at her will.

Today technology has changed some things, yes; however, there is a point that expensive GPS systems fail and maps seem to be non-orientable. At this point journeyers have no advantage over those who forged those same trails thousands of years ago.  People realize the importance of awareness of their surroundings for not only safety reasons, but for sanity as well. Civilization wants control and understanding, as a whole giving themselves to something bigger always has seemed to be an uncomfortable transition.

To attain comfort within the natural world, to know place and to have an acceptance of place, travelers must accept that they do not have ultimate control- upon this realization, a sense of self and an appreciation of place can soon be achieved.