Category: hiking

As I stepped out of the forest and onto the ledge of rock that hangs out over the valley of the Illinois River, I strode headfirst into a scattered mist of rain the canopy of trees had been protecting me from.  It was a thin, delicate rain that could soak through anything, it drenched my … Continue reading Coquille, Illinois

I dropped down into the basin from the low ridge road, and watched the plume of dust fly behind my car as I ripped out along a barely worn track that leads across the sagebrush sea, toward a tower of cliffs against the eastern side of the valley.  This part of the valley was desolate, … Continue reading Flint Hills, Badger Draw 

Before there was Wild Solitude, there was the Church of Solitude- the series that started it all. Our much requested, long awaited book is here. The first eight short stories are now available in print, as the Church of Solitude, Book One. Click the link below to purchase a hand-numbered, hand-signed copy of this limited … Continue reading Church of Solitude, Book One

Gravel crunched underfoot amid the soggy remnants of maple leaves that had fallen months earlier, while my breath made big clouds into the winter morning air. The towering, thin firs and hemlocks of the tree plantation had been allowed to grow quite tall in this section, framing in the road tightly, while a dark, densely-planted … Continue reading The Big Trees/On The Way To The Sea

I was just approaching the canyon at sunset when the first raindrops began to fall around me in the dust. Looking up into a bruise colored sky, fast moving clouds began to swell behind the dark basalt cliffs, as the last of the sun’s rays streamed through the sagebrush covered basin, turning it golden in … Continue reading Canyon and Coulee

I guess I should have expected the snow, above 6000’ in the springtime. Flurries swirled around my car as I removed my leggings in the backseat and began cleaning my wounds. I was bleeding in four places, the largest of which was a grapefruit sized ooze of blood on my knee. What was supposed to … Continue reading Into the fold: Basin and Range (repost)

In my dreams, I can travel to this place again; the home of dark shadows, of soft moss and towering firs. As I step out of my vehicle into the damp air, I watch my boots squish into the soft earth, mud rising up around the edges. The rain has softened to a light patter … Continue reading From Riverside

I steadied myself against a tree with my one good arm as I paused near the top of the rise to catch my breath. Every exhale expressed as a well-formed cloud; hoarfrost and alder leaves crunched underfoot. In the distance, the roar of a distant waterfall, and wind moving through the treetops. Sword ferns blanket … Continue reading Solitude is Medicine

Alder leaves crunched underfoot as I made my way slowly up a tunneled, tree-lined, abandoned road in the Tillamook State Forest. I didn’t know where I was going. In fact, I barely knew where I was as I wandered the seemingly infinite network of active and abandoned logging roads that crisscrossed the state forests, an … Continue reading Finding Your Forest Home