We did not create this world nor its nature…. We have only brought about a greed that disrespects what we can never repair…  Many wild places within the United States are managed by entities, and with that comes overarching decisions on how to manage these inspiring and unreplaceable spaces.  One decision that a generation may deem correct could easily alter the nature we recreate in for generations to come.  For me… My son may lose the ability to climb a mountain peak with his father, or even just to go find silence together.  Or another individual may look at a sacred space differently…. A thru-hiker might lose a place that once healed them from childhood trauma, and a world of people could slowly notice that the beauty that once encompassed a family vacation might forever look different.  From hunters to hikers, bikers, to runners…. We cannot only rely on the organizations that fight for Wilderness… People are the strongest power our nature has in its survival; yet we are its greatest enemy as well.  As I write here, I will share the romantic side of Wilderness from my own life experiences, but also a look into the value these few places hold for us.  As I write, I ask you to try to pay attention to the ugly things of this world.  Not to become ill in thought and anger either, but to be learned in spirit and knowledge.  To enable ourselves to protect the very Wilderness areas that a higher power created and that we could destroy in our humanness.

Mazatzal Wilderness, Tonto National Forest, Arizona

A labyrinth of trails leading from the Verde River on one side and from below Payson on the other.   From the time I came here, I noticed that when it rains… The rain may come hard, the flash flood of Deer Creek dancing down the canyon.  The flatlands leading away from the range become still.  As the water and the land speak of kinship.  The mud is their reminder of beauty and acceptance of all.

I want to share a bit of writing about my climb of Mount Peeley… My climb of Mount Peeley came with patience.  After winter set in, so did snowfall and the emotional dance of the mountain creeks.  After some patience and waiting, the water of Deer Creek had gone down, and my window to Backpack the Deer Creek Trail to the Summit of Mount Peeley was now possible.  The Desert kindly welcomed me back.  I walked the Deer Creek Trail, and the dance of illustration by flash floods and water met me and my footsteps.  The canyon walls hugged tight but loosely… The sun reminds me always of his friendship with the desert lands.  I walked in and out of Deer Creek.  The shade came and went.  The trail took me over seven miles of this beautiful canyon.  I walked up onto exposed rocks, taking in the higher cliffs and hills.  The wild around me showed me its vulnerable side… Its desolation- nothing but inspiring.  A dance of discomfort and adventurous inspiration.   Along my way, I noticed a Deer in a shaded area… The land around was profoundly quiet in this canyon, and nearing three-quarters of the day, I found myself climbing upward.  I continued walking up the Canyon until I reached the parking lot at the Peeley Trailhead.  I was almost to my home for the night!  I began on the Peeley Trail for a short time.  Some lingering snow remained on the trail, and it crunched as it was slightly hard and frozen… Within a few more steps, I was listening to the stillness of the mountain home.   Peeley, in my opinion, has the most impactful and inspiring view of Arizona!  In the above photograph, “Hinterland & Home, I look now at a blue-like haze below the Coconino Rim.  I stand on a pathway of red rocks.  Looking at my past, the present, and the future.  Mountains I have climbed and memories I will have.  The sun says goodnight on the crest of the Coconino Rim.  My home to the North and my home for the night, standing still as God weaves his sunset…  A unique masterpiece.  Different everywhere you could go.  A place for me where experiences and mountains of the past met hand in hand with the present, as if saying welcome to a new chapter.  A range of Inspiration that one could fill an entire earthly life with.  In the other, in front of me, stands the Mazatzal Peak, a friend from the past.  A place God has blessed me with in this life.

The Black Forest of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Jessica and I parked our Jeep above the Black Hills.  Looking down on the space of wild canvas that lay before us.  We walked down into the badlands of color, and soon we came across our home for the night.  A butte that looked out upon the hills themselves.  The air was calm, and the sun was cool, as if they were walking in tandem… Trying to accommodate a friendship.  The colors of sunset only added to the painting of the wild around us.  The Wilderness Hills, all calm together.  Like a healthy family…

Guadalupe Peak Wilderness, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Jessie and I arrived at Guadalupe Mountains National Park pretty late in the afternoon.  Everything felt rushed in our humanness until we stepped food on the trail.  The wildness of the Guadalupe was silent but vocal in song.  We walked up the edge of the mountain…  The lowland below bids us farewell for the night.  The sun dances her dance as the temperature harmonizes with the mountains around us.  Our tent…still on the edge of Texas.  The Chihuahuan Desert shows us its appreciation of love and commitment with its gentle evening song.

Lost Creek Wilderness, Pike National Forest, Colorado

I found a spot below the summit, and here in this miniature alpine valley I called home for the night.  I thanked the Landlord and Architect, “Jesus,” for such a beautiful place to experience!  After a Mountain House meal and some rest, I was ready to stand atop the true summit and photograph the sunset!  For the next couple of hours, I spent climbing around the boulders of McCurdy Mountain.  I found my perch and decided what my photography compositions would be this evening.  I saw a Marmot enjoying the peaceful landscape alongside me and listened to a quiet night in the Alpine Zone.  The views of the distant Mountain Ranges are grasping me like a memory I can’t let go of.  I awoke the next morning to the peaceful song of mountain silence.  It was time to head back to responsibility.  On the flip side, I will be seeing my partner next weekend in Arizona, a woman who would become so special to me that I would marry her within the next few years!  I look now at this piece of art below… The Alpine Grass below, like a Valley amongst castles made of Wild Nature…. A Landscape no man could construct…. These Wilderness Castles standing tall, speaking of God’s glory.  The blue mountains in the distance…. Stretching farther than a wanderer’s eyes can truly see.

Carson Iceberg Wilderness, Stanislaus National Forest, CA

Walking to the summit of Highland Peak is an inspiring experience… The rocky alpine landscape tells its unique Sierra story.  The smoke from wildfires dances across the horizon.  I walk here by my lonesome…. The air is grabbing me with its presence.  I make my way to an alpine spire off of its Ridgeline.  I look at a photograph of my climb now… The colors and temperatures on the horizon grab me, inspiring me, telling me that we may share a story that is mine and theirs.  The mountain and its kin.

Gila Wilderness, Gila National Forest, New Mexico

When I walked into the Gila Wilderness, I was overwhelmed by the inspiration that such isolation had for me.  I walked through patches of crunchy snow, bear prints engraved in the frozen water as I walked.  The ridgelines around me, cold yet present.  Standing with one another in kinship.  Once at the Mogollon Baldy summit, I am isolated… Twelve miles from my foot to the beginning of my trail.  The wind dances around me, conscious of my presence but confident of its elegance.  The sunset weaves, and the air becomes crisp…. The land far below is another world and another life away.  I am separated by the moment I have here with my creator.

Diablo Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Oregon

The Wilderness of Diablo Peak was unique; we walked in hills of desolation and silence…  The wind danced around the peak.  Far below, wild stallions roam like we all should.  Inspired and driven to live.  A storm can be felt in the air; this place communicates every second.  The mountains in the distance are like a wall guarding something precious… The mountain we stand on, resilient in the face of greed. 

These are some of my poetic and romantic experiences in these wild places.  The pictures I aim to draw from my heart, my eyes, my lens, and my words are meant to encourage you to protect the Wilderness areas of this country.  Furthermore…. If mankind cannot climb a mountain, what will we climb to see what has been created?   If the wind does not have trees to blow through, what sound does silence truly have?  If Wild loses its heart, can we ever truly escape humanity?

Sky