Forest Therapy Harvest

January 29, 2021

Last summer, a good friend and fellow forest steward James Yancey turned me onto a program that trains people as guides in the emerging field of Forest Therapy. As he described the idea behind the practice, I was instantly intrigued. We decided to go through the 6-month training program together, and thus began a journey that would change my life in significant ways. 

The overall premise of Forest Therapy is that humans benefit from time spent outside among trees, provided we slow down and get in touch with our senses. There are physical as well as psychological benefits to be had by spending time in the forest, and we don’t have to go deep into a wilderness environment to enjoy them. It turns out that a couple of hours in a public park or pocket of trees in an urban environment can do the trick!

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Shift Happens

March 26, 2020

(This post was originally written Feb. 19, 2020, prior to major COVID-19 action in the USA)

It’s funny how quickly life can turn based on a moment of awareness or a comment made in a seemingly mundane and unremarkable conversation. If you said to me 6 months ago that I was going to get a truck, learn the art of milling wood on a saw mill, and deliver firewood to friends and family, I would almost certainly have laughed it off. Yet, that’s exactly what happened. 

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Car-Free 2018 Recap

January 17, 2019

Last January, I gave up my car and went ‘car-free’ for the first time in 20 years (I lived in NYC in 1998-1999, which was the only other time I was without a car since turning 16). I’ll get to the reasons why in a minute, but the headline is that I saved over $10,000 in 2018 compared to 2017. Cool, right?!?!

Now for the breakdown on how that happened:

I was spending around $1,000/month on vehicle expenses when I had my car; occasionally more, but this is a reasonable baseline. This was mainly the lease payment and the insurance (which was getting out of control at $234/month). I didn’t drive that much, so fuel was never a big factor. So, a total of around $12,000/year to have a nice car that was parked the vast majority of the time. Continue Reading…

Inspiration, Travel and Adventure

A Flash of Life at Falls Creek in Alaska

November 12, 2018

I’ve been holding back, and I’m shortchanging myself, my friends, my family, and if I’m honest with myself, the world as a whole. Not sharing major breakthroughs is selfish, and I’ve been very selfish about a big one. 

One year ago, I had a life changing experience while visiting Alaska and it affected my outlook in a major way. I was visiting my cousin during the Thanksgiving holiday and part of our emerging tradition was going on epic hikes in the Alaska wilderness. I’ve had some of the best hikes of my life while visiting him over the past two Thanksgiving holidays.  Continue Reading…

Travel and Adventure

Bob Marshall Wilderness – Day 5

September 29, 2015

This is the third and final post of my epic adventure in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in August, 2015. The first two posts can be found here and here.

Day 5
I awoke just before sunrise and quickly got my camera out for what I knew would be a beautiful scene over the valley to the east of my campsite. I was not disappointed. The sunrise was truly magnificent! Some fog hung low along the bottom of valley and in the pockets between the mountains in all directions. I got some great photos and made breakfast while watching the valley come to life. Continue Reading…