The Darkling Wilderness

The Darkling Wilderness is my Personal Blog.

“It seems to be absolutely necessary for the morality, the stability and health of our nation, that our young people should have free access to the forest and field. A normal life is produced neither by the palace or the hovel – it needs the hot rays of the sun, the pelting of the storm, the bivouac in the wilderness, the climbing of mountains, shooting the wrath of the rapids, in order to build up the muscles, the mind and morals of a well-balanced manhood.” - (D.C. Beard, 1925)

“We need the tonic of wildness–to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground…. We can never have enough of Nature.” - (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854)

“Wilderness is not only a haven for native plants and animals but it is also a refuge from society. It’s a place to go to hear the wind and little else, see the stars and the galaxies, smell the pine trees, feel the cold water, touch the sky and the ground at the same time, listen to coyotes, eat the fresh snow, walk across the desert sands, and realize why it’s good to go outside of the city and the suburbs. Fortunately, there is wilderness just outside the limits of the cities and the suburbs in most of the United States, especially in the West.”- (John Muir)

“We are all naturally seekers of wonders. We travel far to see the majesty of old ruins, the venerable forms of the hoary mountains, great waterfalls, and galleries of art. And yet the world's wonder is all around us; the wonder of setting suns, and evening stars, of the magic spring-time, the blossoming of the trees, the strange transformations of the moth...” - (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma)

I spend my days in the mountains, among the crags and on the peaks, and in the sparsely populated and isolated darkling wilderness areas of Cascadia. A wayfarer alone, but more often with my dog by my side. “For, there is no good reason why every hiker should not be accompanied by a hiking dog. If there is anything a dog loves better than its own soul it is to hike with its master, and every normal boy and girl, and every normal man and woman, loves the company of a good dog.” - (D.C. Beard 1920) We may be found along the northern portions of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and on the Windy Joe Trail in British Columbia, or further north in the Nahanni Valley.

Stretching for more than 2500 miles along the Pacific Coast, Cascadia extends as far as the salmon run, spread across an incredible diversity and range of habitats, wilderness and landscapes. These watersheds stretch from South East Alaska to Northern California, and from the crest of the continental divide to the Pacific coast westward. Cascadia is a bioregion defined by the watersheds of the Columbia and Fraser River valleys that stretches from Northern California to south east Alaska and as far east as the Yellowstone Caldera and continental divide. It encompasses most of the states and province of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and parts of southeast Alaska, northern California and western Montana.

As the Taiga circles to the earth, so too will the things we discuss here. I have no interest in borders and the political divisions of nations, nor do I care for the laws and over-reach of governments. Anarchy does not mean out of control. It means out of their control.

I adopt that which is useful from all people and all cultures in the mountains and in Snow Forest, and I share what I know and what I have with all who wish to partake of it. Nor do I eschew modern technology, it can be useful, but I know too that it can fail when it is needed most. So, I never forget the old ways, for these are the things have been proven over many generations. Hunting, fishing, trapping, the gathering of wild plants for food and medicine, and sustainable agriculture in the forest are all important.