I’m not scared of heights, but when I’m several stories up I don’t want to fall either. Likewise I enjoy a good thunderstorm, but when I’m standing on an exposed mountain my feelings toward lightening changes a little.

John Muir once said that “many of Nature’s finest lessons are to be found in her storms.” Any rational human being would call that an insane reason to wander a glacier field during a blizzard. And they would be right. That’s what makes Muir so much fun is that the guy was nuts. But watching a thunderstorm roll in while I was stubbornly trying to get work done, Muir does have a point. You see the field differently when you’re taking shelter under a juniper tree and considering if it’s worth the exposed run to lower ground amidst deafening thunder.

Of course, I exaggerate some. I wasn’t facing “the perfect storm” or anything. I was fine. But those were my musings as I contemplated how well I could jog down a mountain without needing to be air lifted. Cause there’d be a lot of paper work if I need to be “life flighted” out. And no one likes paper work. Or broken spines.

Thankfully there’s no paperwork. But it was one of those somewhat mundane moments in the field that does get you thinking.

My past couple weeks have been a riot with looking for raptor nests and marking them. Oddly satisfying work when you start to find them. The best was finding a Ferruginous Hawk nest with the two parents screaming away at me right over head. Made my day. I’m moving on to being fuels reduction this week, which will be a fun change of pace. Though that said, I will start to miss these punks:

Cheers!

Ben Robb