A River Knows My Name

Peering cautiously over the slim granite shelf we are on, I could now see all the way down to the bottom of the deep ravine below us.  Rocks and large boulders are poking up through the hard crusty snow. It…

It was a sunny day around the 2nd of October that I hiked the Chain Lakes Loop, a six mile hike I've done countless times.

The day promised to be pushing 80 degrees, so I loaded up Kili and headed…

There’s something about coming back to a place you know.    The place I’m about to describe is a certain valley deep in the heart of the North Cascades.   I just returned from there with my two sons, now grown.   It’s…

Nothing in the world enhances a wilderness experience compares with the thrill of a wildlife sighting.  Whether I’m driving through the south side of Bellingham and notice a family of racoons gathering on a sidewalk as they plot their next…

There's nothing like the first few steps of a long backpack.  You feel the straps digging into your shoulders, and the dull, aching weight on your hips makes you realize you packed too much as the summer sun beats down…

Another brilliant slice of Alaska wild by Kurt Dunbar.   If you love to fish, you will relate to the meditative, transcendental experience that Kurt captures so beautifully.     There is, however, a twist...

Dan said somebody told him the pinks were…

The following excerpt from Joseph Campbell's timeless 1988 interview with Bill Moyers shed some light on the lost connections to nature we once shared with our ancestors and the dreams and myths that guided and shaped them.  To…

Photo of Tumwater Falls above the Old Brewhouse Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

One good tribute deserves another and that last tribute by Kurt Dunbar to his mother was amazing.    It kind of blows my mind that one of my first…

If you've been to Alaska, this story by Kurt Dunbar is certain to evoke a deep nostalgia and sense of wonder.  If you've never been, I guarantee after reading this, you will feel like you have.  Ultimately, this is a…

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.” –  Leo Tolstoy 

Some may find this surprising, but as an educator, there are times I often wonder if I'm more…

Lowering the dogs...

This is an excerpt from my memoir, A River Knows My Name that is a continuation from the Over Our Heads story I posted on April 21st.  Perhaps revisiting that before proceeding with this might be helpful.…

In 1991, I took what would amount to a ten-year break from teaching.  I spent that summer reading Tolstoy and salvaging scrap wood from construction sites to build a cabin on a fellow rainforest activist’s land.  It was to be…