Let's Be Wild

I can tell you where it began. Where I discovered the wild inside of me. I don’t mean the kind of wild that is made up of late nights in big cities or college parties filled with keg stands and never ending beer pong. Nor do I mean the kind of wild that involves fast cars, bad decisions, and oftentimes regret. To me, wild means something else. Instead of staying up late and being the last one to leave the bar, it’s staying up late and being the last one to see the stars and catching that elusive glimpse of the Milky Way stretching across the sky while knowing that you are part of something so much bigger. It’s rolling down a massive sand dune that you can sometimes stumble upon on the side of a desert trail just to feel the joy and freedom that it brings to tumble head over heals through the sand. It’s rounding the corner of a trail high in the mountains and spotting a stream flowing down the hillside and then narrowing in your gaze on the moose slowly walking toward the stream to get his morning drink and knowing, as you gaze in wonder and slowly back away, that you’re seeing one of the true kings of the mountain. And for me, wild means waking up in the desert for the very first time 3 years ago, walking across the flat slick rock shelf that we were happy to call home for the night, sitting down with my coffee that took way longer to make than I was used to thanks to the slow pour over process that I now use every time I’m camping but was new to me that morning, and staring across the vast canyon that opened up below me. I felt peace, I felt happy, I felt whole, and mostly, I felt wild. That morning, and the rest of the trip that followed, changed me. Afterwards, I felt that I had to find a way to make experiences like that a regular part of my life, and more importantly, to help others make it a part of theirs. What followed was a dramatic career change that enabled me to work in our national parks for several years and now to helping run one of western Colorado’s many important non-profits, COPMOBA (Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trails Association). At COPMOBA our mission is to help build and advocate for trails in our communities and on our public lands. These trails are a crucial aspect of being able to access the wilderness that surrounds us and the wild waiting to be found in all of us. Since that pivotal morning in the desert, I have managed to find the wild inside of me in many different places and in many different ways, and I hope to share some of those adventures, as well as new ones, with you in the coming weeks, months, and maybe even years. Nothing gives me greater joy than to be able to help someone find their wild, too, so please know that my inbox is always open for your questions, suggestions, and feedback. In the words of one of my favorite authors, John Muir, “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark,” and I want you to see it, too.

(This post was written for the Let's be Wild column in the Montrose Daily Press, September 6th, 2017)