I think we should not completely dismiss ( wilderness) even when we are going from city A to city B. We could get stuck or stranded in between by any freak twist of luck

All it takes is a detour or "shortcut" or mechanical failure of some sort, and you find your self in the wilderness , even when asphalt is a few feet away. Happened to me a few decades ago. Car failed in the middle of a sandstorm and NO ONE was there on the road. Seems most of the population was smarter than me. LOL