Prelude of the Addiction

     My little 4 year old legs trying to match the seemingly silent and at the same time giant stride of my father's.  He defied nature the way he moved over the logs, through the four foot tall ferns, up and down the banks of the damp forest floor.  He was doing the exact opposite of every thing I had ever known.  I was a young boy, I broke things, I smashed things, whisper was not in my volume range!  Walking through the woods was about splashing in puddles, kicking rocks down the hill, ripping ferns from their roots, smashing beetles, looking for the elusive four leaf clover (I'm still searching...), and playing with salamanders.  Little did I know I was being "trained".  This "training" was the gateway drug for the rest of my life!

     My father is a very patient man, he put up with my puddle splashing, rock kicking, fern ripping, and who knows what else.  For years he brought me to the rainforest that is the Coast Range of Oregon on our annual father and son hunting trips.  On our way to camp we would stop at the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area where we would look at the elk and deer, these might be the only animals we would see on our trip (thanks to the 4 year old hulk).  It started as a camping trip that evolved to me carrying a play rifle through the woods, because I wanted to be just like dad.  I started to learn the way, I started to follow his mannerisms, his footsteps, his every move.  I was becoming addicted to the outdoors.  The play rifle evolved into a BB gun, the camping trips became longer, the hikes became harder.  I started to appreciate nature more, I was trying harder and harder to become the silent ninja in the woods like my father.

     Fast forward 26 years, I am now the husband to an amazing wife and the father of three wonderful kids.  I am now tasked with "training" them just as my father did me.  Training them to love the outdoors, to love what God has made for us.  The camping and hunting trips with my dad taught me so much more than how to walk in the woods, they taught me confidence, responsibility, work ethic, respect, they molded me into who I am today.  There will never be enough of the outdoors for me.  I will constantly be striving to see what's over the next hill or where the creek will lead.  This was the start of my addiction to the outdoors, my perpetual search for more.