One Square Inch of Silence

[MikeB3542]

Today on WI Public Radio, I heard an interview with an extraordinary gentleman named Gordon Hempton. His cause is to find places of natural silence, where one can truly listen to the world around us. Here is his website:

 

http://onesquareinch.org/

 

What was intriguing was the identification of "one square inch of silence" within the Olympic National Park, approx 3 miles east of the Hoh Visitors Center. The coordinates are noted on the website(N47° 51.959 W123° 52.221) along with hiking directions, and there is a log at the location (not intended for geocaching, only for folks to write down their reflections of this wild place.

 

Geocaching identifies itself as one of the "silent sports" -- one where you can get out on your own in nature and, if you pay attention, see, hear, touch, smell and maybe taste a world that you miss in our normal rushing about. This area is pretty much devoid of any eartcaches or virtuals, so seems it would be any interesting opportunity for someone interested (and closer that I am here in Wisconsin).

[+pinelvr]

What a neat idea.

 

And the "sounds" we hear on the hikes.....what a cool topic.

 

I was down in Florida recently and asked a state park ranger what a nice outback type trail was for a full day hike. He directed me on one where 1/3 of it was within 100 feet of a major freeway. Sure I saw gators and snakes and wildflowers galore and even bear scat; but I sorta heard a little too much from humanity zipping by.

 

A couple days later, I went on a trail in SW FLorida that I was sure would have only natural sounds; a small airplane crisscrossed for at least an hour overhead - as I alternately made splashing and squiching sounds myself. It was possibly radio tracking something - a felon, a big cat? I even hear they are now tracking burmese pythons (invasive) in some areas down there? What does a python sound like if you could hear it over the whirling of the airplane engine before it grabs you?

 

Returning to Eastern Pennsylvania, I'm craving someplace with only "natural" sounds....this time of year - the birds calling, sometimes the state game lands are like that.....maybe this weekend.....

[+Touchstone]

Interesting idea. I'll be curious to see if the NPS promotes this idea further.

 

Here in noisy CA, it's more and more difficult to find such places. Even in the heart of the Sierra, it's difficult to go even a few minutes without hearing the rumble of overhead aircraft.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[+lachupa]

I like this idea.

 

I've had a similar experience as pinelvr with hiking along a road. If I wanted to hear traffic, I would stay in the city.

 

In Yosemite, I once ran into a guy who had clearly been out on the trail a day or two plugged into a ipod. ? Hey to each his own but really?

[+ironman114]

There is more than one square inch of silence in the ONP.

 

I have been there many times.

 

Of course you need to get away from any trails or get deep into the interior to get away from noise from some hikers.

 

Last time I was there I could see a couple of jets overhead, but they were so high they were silent.

[dougp01]

This is a great thing, and I still need to checkout the website.

 

This is one of the things I love about being in Colorado. There are still true wilderness areas here. They are in fact wild and not maintained by the forest or park services. For the unprepared, these areas can even be dangerous. With a little willingness to prepare and some orienteering abilites (not GPS alone), it is possible find places you could swear have never been touch by man. My only problem is not going to these places often enough.

 

[] -doug []

Edited August 7, 2010 by dougp01

[dougp01]

I visted the website and saw some very low acoustic numbers, down in the 30s decibels. This is almost unheard of in my day to day world (pun intended).

 

For those tech-minded folks out there a web site of interest is here: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-decibel.htm

Edited August 7, 2010 by dougp01

[+Isonzo Karst]

GCKQCV this virtual cache, in the panhandle of Florida, showcases the darkest accessible skies in the United States, east of the Mississippi

 

It's quiet too - astonishingly so (until the silence is shattered by an airboat).

Edited December 5, 2010 by Isonzo Karst

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

GCKQCV this virtual cache, in the panhandle of Florida, showcases the darkest accessible skies in the United States, east of the Mississippi

 

It's quiet too - astonishingly so (until the silence is shattered by an airboat).

 

That one is on my must do list!

[MikeB3542]

GCKQCV this virtual cache, in the panhandle of Florida, showcases the darkest accessible skies in the United States, east of the Mississippi

 

It's quiet too - astonishingly so (until the silence is shattered by an airboat).

 

That one is on my must do list!

Beautiful quote, Seeker! May our trails improbably cross in peace!

[MikeB3542]

GCKQCV this virtual cache, in the panhandle of Florida, showcases the darkest accessible skies in the United States, east of the Mississippi

 

It's quiet too - astonishingly so (until the silence is shattered by an airboat).

 

That one is on my must do list!

Beautiful quote, Seeker! May our trails improbably cross in peace!

Oh cr@p, that sounded awful! I mean it is unlikely our paths would cross -- be well.

[MikeB3542]

GCKQCV this virtual cache, in the panhandle of Florida, showcases the darkest accessible skies in the United States, east of the Mississippi

 

It's quiet too - astonishingly so (until the silence is shattered by an airboat).

 

That one is on my must do list!

Beautiful quote, Seeker! May our trails improbably cross in peace!

Oh cr@p, that sounded awful! I mean it is unlikely our paths would cross -- be well.

[+briansnat]

In NJ, no matter where you go there is the sound of airplanes overhead and automobiles in the distance. I've backpacked in the Catskills and Adirondacks and though fairly quiet you can still hear the occasional plane and if you listen, the roar of distant automobiles.

 

A few years ago I paddled the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine. We were dropped off at the put in and the driver left. The thing that I found most remarkable once the sound of his vehicle disappeared in the distance was the all enveloping silence. Nothing but the sound of the water and a slight breeze. It was the first time in my life I experienced anything like it. It was an awesome trip. Within the first half hour on the water we saw a bald eagle, an otter, a few loon and a moose feeding in the river. But it was the silence that made the greatest impression on me. On the third day of the trip a jet flew overhead. It was barely a speck in the sky and the sound of it normally would have been nearly imperceptible, but I recall how jarring it sounded in comparison to the silence we experience until that point.

[+reamer]

I guess I'm one of the lucky one's here. I can have a hike in silence any day of the week.....all I have to do is take the batteries out of my hearing aids!

[MikeB3542]

I guess I'm one of the lucky one's here. I can have a hike in silence any day of the week.....all I have to do is take the batteries out of my hearing aids!

OK, that's just funny! But seriously, when I heard this guy on the local public radio station, what was amazing was how loud nature was IF you weren't mixing it up with man-made sound. He played exquisite recordings of (very) distant thunder and snow melting.

[+ironman114]

I guess I'm one of the lucky one's here. I can have a hike in silence any day of the week.....all I have to do is take the batteries out of my hearing aids!

OK, that's just funny! But seriously, when I heard this guy on the local public radio station, what was amazing was how loud nature was IF you weren't mixing it up with man-made sound. He played exquisite recordings of (very) distant thunder and snow melting.

 

We listened to the roar of snow falling in the Olympic Mountains just yesterday and I didn't have to drive all the way up to the west side to do it.

[+reamer]

I guess I'm one of the lucky one's here. I can have a hike in silence any day of the week.....all I have to do is take the batteries out of my hearing aids!

OK, that's just funny! But seriously, when I heard this guy on the local public radio station, what was amazing was how loud nature was IF you weren't mixing it up with man-made sound. He played exquisite recordings of (very) distant thunder and snow melting.

 

Seriously....it would surprise most folks to know how loud nature can be, even snowflakes falling on a tarp shelter.

[+Snoogans]

In NJ, no matter where you go there is the sound of airplanes overhead and automobiles in the distance. I've backpacked in the Catskills and Adirondacks and though fairly quiet you can still hear the occasional plane and if you listen, the roar of distant automobiles.

 

My favorite silent spots are mostly in the California wilderness backcountry. There are some places above 10,000 feet where on a calm day you can hear your hair grow. McGee Pass, Silver Pass, and Mono Pass come to mind.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Snoogans

[+dirt_empire]

Here in the Natural State, Arkansas, I've not found too many silent places. Used to visit a family cabin in Greer's Ferry and not hear a sound for days. Nowadays it has become a hive of vacationing college students. Not a bad thing, but I'm getting tired of shooing them off private property.

[+TotemLake]

Today on WI Public Radio, I heard an interview with an extraordinary gentleman named Gordon Hempton. His cause is to find places of natural silence, where one can truly listen to the world around us. Here is his website:

 

http://onesquareinch.org/

 

What was intriguing was the identification of "one square inch of silence" within the Olympic National Park, approx 3 miles east of the Hoh Visitors Center. The coordinates are noted on the website(N47° 51.959 W123° 52.221) along with hiking directions, and there is a log at the location (not intended for geocaching, only for folks to write down their reflections of this wild place.

 

Geocaching identifies itself as one of the "silent sports" -- one where you can get out on your own in nature and, if you pay attention, see, hear, touch, smell and maybe taste a world that you miss in our normal rushing about. This area is pretty much devoid of any eartcaches or virtuals, so seems it would be any interesting opportunity for someone interested (and closer that I am here in Wisconsin).

Gordon was interviewed by King5 News at the monument in the Hoh Rain Forest and Hurricane Ridge yesterday.

http://www.king5.com/video?id=121817499&sec=623292

Edited May 14, 2011 by TotemLake

[+d+n.s]

As an audio engineer who sometimes needs to gather the sounds of nature for films I can confirm the world is a noisy place.

We ALL tend to suffer from hearing damage just from the sounds of traffic and day to day urban noise pollution. Most people hear worse in their ear that faces traffic while driving even!

It's even harder to find a silent spot when you bring a mic and headphones with you. I think an EC like this would be awesome.

[+Woodstramp]

Sorry,

 

I just don't "get" this. Is the "Silent Place" supposed to be reserved for just one person (at a time...two would make too much noise) to go there, hear nothing, then leave so the next one can come?

 

Humans are social creatures and live in groups for the most part (...well at least in groups of two...that whole "continue the species" thingy). We are noisy. Even if you go find some small, primitive, Amozon-wilderness-bound tribe, you can lay in one of thier hammocks and hear all the activity of a village (grain pounding, kids yelling, dogs barking, farts).

 

I'd venture that most here reading this site are in a house or apartment (wood framed from trees that were power saw-felled), drive a vehicle (with an internal combustion engine), have flown in a plane (over "silent" areas), your computer is probably running on electricity that is generated by something noisey...

 

Would you rid the world of all these noise makers just so you can go enjoy your silent moment? Really? Would you hike all the way from your city abode for the hundred mile foot trip to go "hear nothing" for a day?

 

Then, of course, if the industrial age noise makers were gone you wouldn't have that long of a hike. But with the new, low tech world you'd be humping it a lot harder in life to feed/shelter yourself and silent nature hikes would be low on your new totem pole. Probably too busy to worry about finding a silent place.

 

Scenario: (Mr. Silence seeker, in a silent wilderness, thinking as a Chinnook Army chopper passes the valley interupts his "moment") "dadgum military...they should be banned!" To heck with national defense!

 

Also, most humans have ears that work. Sound is relative. Someone above mentioned being able to hear his hair grow. If I put in foamy ear plugs I can hear my heart, that grindy elbow joint and even the tacos being jostled in stomach acid. In "silent" wilderness I can still hear a doe grunt, armadillo rooting and that huge woodpecker pounding the crap out of pine two hollows away.

 

If you really want to take this track of thinking you'll end up with the "silent" wilderness surrounding the town in the small book "Anthem" by Ayn Rand. You might want to give it a read to see if you'd like that kind of world.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Woodstramp