What? Arizona Strip Left Off List of Unspoiled Wilderness

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time exploring the Uintah Mountains in Utah. I loved hiking days into this wilderness area where there were no roads, just a trail and no stores to buy food. We had what we packed in or what we could catch in a lake. Just knowing there are places that are wild is good for the soul. 

The site Love Exploring looked at 51 of the most unspoiled places in the United States. 

Worlds away from its thrumming cities, America's wild spaces are some of the most awe-inspiring in the world. Vast swaths of the country are given over to soaring snow-crowned peaks, thick, trail-laced forests, and sprawling lakes and rivers. 

They picked one spot in each state. I feel like there was one area on the border of Utah and Arizona that just cannot be overlooked on a list of wild unspoiled wilderness. In fact, I think it could top the list.

For Utah they chose the Desolation Canyon Wilderness on the eastern part of the state. An area of canyons and desert with the Green River running through it. This is beautiful and still relatively untouched by cities and developments. It certainly fits the category.  

For Arizona they listed the Mazatzal Wilderness, Tonto and Coconino National Forests. These are massive stretches of desert filled with cacti and rocky bluffs. Also, an area mostly untouched by modern man. 

What did they leave off their list of wilderness areas? The Arizona Strip. The part of Arizona cut off from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon. This huge mostly untouched section of the west is bigger than the state of Massachusetts. It boasts a national park and a couple of national monuments. 

There are soaring mountains, slot canyons and one of America’s great rivers. It is so primitive that you should let family and the BLM know where you are headed before driving into it. This is a huge section of unspoiled land right in the middle of the west.

The list just seems incomplete without it.