My greatest fear of a wildland fire is losing my forest.
I have spent enough time above timberline to know the experience
of returning to the comforts of the forest below.
I will never lose that bonding with the forest.
I’ve counted the rings on my largest trees
and they are 100 years old.
Losing our house would be a terrible inconvenience.
But that would likely be over in a few years.
After the fire, the views of Mt. Evans will still be there.
After the fire, the creek and ponds will still be there.
After the fire, the meadow will quickly recover.
It would take a century for all of my trees to grow back.
That loss would be unbearable.
Previous Articles
Evening Campfires
Frosty’s May feature, “The Celestial Magic of a Campfire and Friends,” and several conversations reminiscing about backcountry hiking, got me to thinking of a column I wrote in July of 2017: It’s raining again today and I love it because it reminds me of the many...
Six Things to Love About Where We Live
Okay, at the risk of being accused of preaching to the choir, here goes... Four seasons: For some people, this is the biggest reason why we moved here and are going to stay forever. I’m from Southern California, which has only one season, except for the week in...
A Business of Your Own!
Dreaming of owning your own business?I think it is safe to say that everyone in our community will be rooting for your success. Surely no one would prefer a large national chain moving into town. That said, there is a limit to how much we will spend to keep your dream...
Take Nothing But Pictures
This is the time of year when the throngs of city people start thinking about their first foray into the Colorado backcountry. After all, it has been a relatively mild winter, so they won’t have to worry about snow blocking the trails and passes. In fact, they will...
What a Guy!
All the people that we really enjoy in our lives will fit many descriptions such as: funniest, most entertaining, smartest, most honest, best looking, would give you the shirt off their back and will always have your back, to mention a few. But, it’s a once in a...
The Blizzard of March 2003
About this time every year, Dougbook sends me this memory of being snowed in at my cabin in Beaverbrook Canyon. The storm snowed for 3 days straight, leaving up to 7 feet of heavy spring snow. It took the county road grader 5 days to reach my cabin. That turned out to...
The White Weasels of Winter
One of the really cool things about my morning solo walks in the woods is that, given enough time, I will eventually observe forest life that no one else sees or even knows about. So, a few days ago, I bundled up and headed out when the temperature was hovering around...
Flooded With Thoughts
I don’t know what I expected for January, but what I got was a flood of thoughts across the emotional spectrum of joy and sadness. One cannot help but share an immense sorrow for the California families who, in a matter of hours, lost everything. I can’t stop...
