Although I'm not a religious man I must say I have been blessed with invaluable family and friends that have afforded me tremendous opportunity in this life of mine. At midlife I am in better physical shape than I have been since my early 20s and the best psychological shape I have ever been in. As much as I long for a wonderful woman, or anyone, to share the joys of our Natural World with me, I will always be content to make my own way when others cannot walk with me. Traveling the backcountry alone is about the biggest taboo there is in all the wisdom that has come from the wilderness, but the joy of spectacular solitude is impossible for many of us to resist. Those of us that have put it together in syllogisms accept the risk of being a solitary strider and do everything else we can to minimize that risk. I have no desire to die in the backcountry; I will however have my ashes cast to remote winds whenever my time comes. I think that the humility of recognizing the gravity of the possible is something that has put as many miles underfoot for me as any other aspect of my psyche. This is much of who I am, and if it doesn't scare you think about coming and walking with me.

I have hiked and scrambled many magnificent miles since my family gave me the gift of outdoor appreciation as a boy. After losing my parents at seven my Aunt & Uncle took my siblings and I in. Given the circumstances I can say there is no way I could have possibly been more fortunate. Aside from the infinite and unconditional love and support they provided I've come to recognize their greatest gift to me is the glory that is northwestern Wyoming. They built a great home near Jackson and for five weeks each June & July from the age of 10 to 14 they sent me to a legendary Ranch Camp where I learned to love backpacking. Camp provided some of my fondest memories at that time. As the baby of my generation my brother and cousin taught me how to rope, ride, and do my part on horse pack trips among many things. I never became the horseman that they did. I climbed the Grand Teton and some other fine summits, but I never became a technical climber either. I fancied hiking and mountaineering, and that fancy evolved into a serious passion. As a younger man I was fortunate to travel fairly extensively, and although I've seen wondrous places all over the world the bias of an enthralled childhood makes the natural world that is northwestern Wyoming my Universe's greatest wonder outside the love of a wondrous woman.

The State of Wyoming Department Of Tourism has a slogan something like: 'Wyoming, Like No Place Else On Earth.' There are incredible places across Wyoming and for many people that slogan rings true if they've only seen the geothermal wonders of Yellowstone or the jaw dropping Gneiss towers of the Tetons. The more time we have the good fortune to spend in northwestern Wyoming the more we come to understand it to be something quite a bit more than just those more famous spectacles. Beyond the Tetons there is superlative high country found in the Wyoming, Snake River, Gros Ventre, Washakie, Absaroka, Beartooth, and Wind River ranges. The greatest rivers of the American West; the Columbia, the Missouri, and the Colorado begin their monumental runs in earnest from these heights as the Snake, the Yellowstone, and the Green respectively. For many hiking, climbing, and fishing enthusiasts the Wind River Range, not the Tetons, is their proverbial Holy Grail. Most of us know Yellowstone is the world's first National Park, not as many of us know that among many other fine wild lands that we also need to thank Teddy Roosevelt for is the 2.2 Million acre Shoshone National Forest, the world's first National Forest. When you combine the adjacent areas of the Shoshone's Washakie Wilderness with the Bridger-Teton National Forest's Teton Wilderness and the southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park you have the largest chunk of road less wilderness in the contiguous states. Bridger Lake in the Teton Wilderness is the remotest place in the contiguous states; it is farther from a road than anywhere else south of Canada.

The 19 million acres of Greater Yellowstone is also said to be the greatest habitat for large mammals in the earth's Temperate Zone. There is an incredibly wide variety, but for many of us the jewels of this mammalian magnificence are the ungulates. The Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are often larger than the deer most people find closer to home. Some Mule Deer in the region are known as Black-tailed Deer. There are White-tailed Deer (Odocelius virginianus), but they are quite uncommon to a few tiny portions of the ecosystem from what I have seen. Although not the size of their Canadian and Alaskan cousins, the Moose (Alces alces) are quite imposing nonetheless. For some of us there is no other animal that embodies the spirit and ideal of what remains of the American Wild West than the Elk (Cervus elaphus), or Wapiti, "White Rump" for Native Americans. The National Elk Refuge just north of Jackson is home to one of the world's greatest and most easily seen wildlife spectacles, the largest wintering herd of elk in the world. Pronghorn (Antilocarpa americana) are more goat than antelope and are the fastest land animals in the Western Hemisphere. The country's largest wintering herd of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) are found at the National Bighorn Sheep Refuge on Whiskey Mountain in the Wind River Range east of the Continental Divide just outside the town of Dubois. I have seen far more Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus) in Colorado than I ever have in Wyoming.

That's many millions of pounds of protein, and of course there are a number of large predators. Because of the high elevation this is a sub arctic environment. The Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) has made an amazing comeback in Wyoming and will more than likely be removed from the Threatened Species List in time after litigation and negotiation. The Black Bear (Ursus americanus) is said by most to be far less of a threat to humans than a Grizzly. Although I'm one inclined to think that the simple truth is that any bear or other animal of size can kill you and deserves space and an educated and healthy respect. Of course there are big cats; Mountain Lion, (Felis concolor), Lynx (Felis lynx), And Bobcat (Felis rufus). A truly rare sight is the Wolverine (Gulo gulo), perhaps pound for pound the most ferocious animal in North America. Coyotes (Canis Latrans) have had to give up considerable ground since Canadian Gray Wolves were introduced in 1995. This was said to have been a "reintroduction" but the fact is that these wolves are a third again larger than their extinct cousins that roamed Greater Yellowstone generations ago. This equation that in my humble opinion is seriously out of balance is one issue I will do my best to expound upon in the coming months beyond my own bias that appears to cross party lines a bit thus far. I'll try to get better balance on the issues on the ground there this spring and from people elsewhere far more qualified than I am. Greater Yellowstone is a truly amazing wild land. I will also talk of Otter, Martens, Beaver, Cranes, Herons, Eagles, Osprey, etc. in these coming months.

With more than three decades worth of wonderful Wyoming memories I sit at the computer here just east of Colorado's Sangre de Christo Range pondering another wondrous summer in Wyoming. I was seriously overweight through the later 90s. After September 11th I reconnected with my family and the outdoors of Wyoming after a long absence. I began to get back in shape and have subsequently gotten my life back. My cousin who has treated me as nothing less than a brother for 35 years and his family have had a great Ranch for 25 years that I've helped out on again. I have also had the gift to be able to walk many of the miles I did as a boy and much younger man, and a few entirely new and delightful stretches. In 2006 I plan to take the greatest journey of my life. I will help on the Ranch in May and June but come July First I will be reincarnated as the younger man I was, I'm going to have my own summer camp and I'm going to move it almost daily for 6 to 8 weeks over a meandering +/- 450 mile swath of "Big, Wonderful Wyoming" high country. I have been hard pressed to get this route of a lifetime out of my mind since I conceived of it one evening a few weeks ago. With permitting for National Parks and unforeseen but likely manageable considerations like snow pack I may have to alter the route somewhat, but I've drawn an enthralling line I am determined to travel as much of as I possibly can. Should I complete it you will have to indulge me for I envision an education I will be compelled to share with you all.