Sheltered Lands

One hundred yards from returning to the parking lot, I encounter my first fellow hiker.  It’s 11:00 a.m. and I’ve been on the trail four hours.   I note that fellow hiker’s carrying a rusty handsaw, unlike the brand new, badass switchblade I’ve been wielding all morning.   Perhaps he’s intent on clearing the trail too.   When we meet, he doesn’t want to talk, but I won’t let that be.   “Howya doin’”, I snap, forcing eye contact.   When he finds out I just finished clearing the entire trail, he can’t hide his disappointment.   I just took all his fun away.   You gotta get up pretty early to out hike me.   My four hours at Wildcat Mountain Preserve have been exhilarating in many ways.  First & foremost, my efforts to give back have felt fantastic.  Walking the three mile loop trail and clearing it of debris after a winter storm has brought a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment, especially so since slippery conditi...

Long ago, I wrote a small check in support of The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  I liked their mission. An at-risk element of ecological sensitivity was behind each acre they secured.   Other conservation organizations were maniacally zealous about preserving land – any land – and that’s not the kind of conservationist I am. In 2007, my support of TNC became more tangible.  I volunteered to do some photo monitoring at Ogden’s Cave – the closest preserves to my home.  I made a few trips to this cool property in my role as monitor and instantly fell in love with it.  However, shortly after I became involved, the cave was turned over to the State of Virginia’s Department of Conservation, meaning my volunteer efforts and love affair came to an end.  A few months ago, I received an email from TNC looking for volunteer Preserve Monitors.  Basically, they need caring people to visit preserves, perform minor trail maintenance, and report their finding...