He's from California. :-)
A bio, etc., is [link|http://www.non-sequitur.com/wiley/|here].
I think he was commenting more on how easy it is be foiled by nature and how easy it is to be distracted. "Time waits for noone." Although I don't recall any other Pierre strips at the moment, lots of other Wiley characters have that crushed-by-fate-but-I'll-keep-trundling-through-life-anyway mood about them.
I don't think he was commenting specifically on how horrible life in the Yukon was, but I could be wrong.
Cheers,
Scott.