New River Mike
Re: "...Especially all of you rough & tumble bush-whackers who think fishing isn't fishing unless you've earned that run you're standing in."
I'm not sure I can entirely agree with that characterization. I'm not assuming that you're suggesting that everyone who seeks out some-of-the-way place is some kind of crazed fanatic. However, I would suggest that some flyfishermen (and outdoorsmen in general) enjoy some "spiritual satisfaction" that can be found when one is willing to get off the beaten path, however one does it.
I'm sure there is some number who measure success in terms of "degree of difficulty." That's why I'll never aspire to the "Team Rugged" experience. But I sure have a begrudging admiration for that spirit, and maybe if I was younger...
Speaking only for myself, some of my most enjoyable days on the water have been when I never saw another soul all day - unless it was a fishing buddy. I've sometimes experienced that on float trips through remote areas and sometimes by getting to some place that's been overlooked, and sometimes purely as a matter of timing.
Anyway, that's another reason this sport is so great - in the end, it's such an individual experience, and allows for so many definitions of enjoyment.
Something else I suspect is that all of us harbor some small remnant of that little boy or girl who had a piece of woodland or meadow to explore in our youth and imagined in our play that we were the only ones who knew about that (creek, fort, cave, etc.) Personally, I feel I grew up in a wonderful time. There was still a sense of security in the neighborhoods I lived in, and there were woods and fields and old abandoned homesteads to explore, not to mention vacant lots to play ball in. Today's kids, at least those who are reasonably well off, often grow up in relatively sterile surroundings, play only organized sports, and have parents who fear for their well-being if they aren't in line of sight at all times. I'm not suggesting this is right or wrong, but it may have something to do with that desire to find someplace, somewhere, that no one else seems to know about. And maybe it's a peculiarly American trait; we can only imagine what it was like to be part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Yes, I think it's part of our nature, something that's healthy and very human.
:7