Nature Essays

I Let Go of Cave Diving

I Let Go of Cave Diving

It took a while. In fact, it took several years. But this week, I finally let go of cave diving.  I hadn’t been cave diving in a while, after enjoying it for nearly 100 cave dives. But diving in an overhead environment requires honed skills, not occasional dips into underwater caves. Unless you do it …

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Got To Be Real

Got To Be Real

It had been a lovely day of wading. Several brookies and a rainbow danced with me. I helped a bat get back to his tree, found three spools of expensive tippet in the water, and enjoyed the green bursting out everywhere in the mountain forest.  As I was finishing my hike, I glanced across the …

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Fierce

Fierce

After an intense weekend of a NOLS Wilderness First Aid class and four days of insane, chilly winds, I finally found myself hiking and wading late this afternoon. When the wind is so high, it makes it dangerous to be out hiking…and today proved that point as several trees were across the creek in places …

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Counting Days, Not Fish

Counting Days, Not Fish

Today was a special anniversary. Another year has passed since I started fly fishing. I spent 67 days fishing during this time period and each one filled me with profound beauty. Each day deepened my friendship with the creeks, rivers, rocks, trees, trout…and insects.  The beautiful insects trout feed on have captured my heart. Their …

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Oneness…on Earth Day

Oneness…on Earth Day

The only other time I experienced such merging with Oneness was when I was doing yoga on deck of a live aboard dive boat, 90 miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic. It was before sunrise. The moon was bright but so were the stars. As I did every morning, I awakened before sunrise …

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