I grew up in Northern California at the foot of the Cascade Mountain range and started hiking the trails on the heels of my parents by the time I was big enough to carry my own sleeping bag. My deep reverence for the wild awakened as I stood on some jutting rock peak looking down on mountain ranges that seemed to have no end. The silence only interrupted by the wind in the trees or echoing cry of hawk or osprey. I have been eye to eye with the bear, shared space with deer and always inadvertently shared food with all the smaller inhabitants. A summer rarely passed without venturing into the wilderness somewhere. It became the place where I felt most at home. more