This is an email that I received from a Marine friend of mine when I returned from the last James Bay Expedition. It sums up much of my life and gives real insight into my character and ability.

I have dedicated much of my life to the mountains and wild places of our country. I have been fortunate to have explored seldom seen lands and experienced expeditionary times that have brought me within minutes of taking the long ‘dirt nap’. Many of these efforts have been solo and unsupported in very remote and difficult regions. It has been an honor to be given the psychological and physical gifts to push many of these outdoor expeditions. It has been a very sporty and exhilarating ride and it continues even to this day.

Winter Mountaineering

Winter mountaineering, both solo and with a small climbing team, is a difficult but completely enjoyable endeavor. I guess enjoyable is in the eye of the beholder. Mt Morrison, at almost 13,000 feet, was a very fun and memorable solo climb. Climbing a 2,000 foot wall clad in snow and ice is challenging and quite sporty. Doing it solo just brings it to a higher level of intensity. My solo climbs on Glacier Peak in the winter were very committing and extremely remote. Being alone in deep wilderness allows one to get to understand himself. This is just another drive for trying to outsmart the wilderness.

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing is actually one of my more sane and safe activities. It is also great fun to climb with friends, and some very good climbers including my two daughters. Climbing in Joshua Tree since 1972, I figure that I have climbed over 2,000 routes. This includes about 25 first ascents in the Park. My heart though was in climbing new routes in the Sierra’s on virgin rock. I established over 100 first ascents with various partners. My hardest were 5.10c and 5.10d’s at an altitude of over 11,000 feet. One of my favorites was a route we called the Direct North Face of University Peak. This route extended 2,500 ft up the north face. The route went 5.8 but gave us incredibly beautiful views of the Sierra’s. The teamwork and tenacity of the three climbers involved was incredible. This is what climbing is about, friendship, dedication to a concept, teamwork and the beauty of the natural world.

Kayaking

Kayaking has become one of my favorite sports. ‘Yakking’ whether I am doing this for fun in the ocean off Southern California or risking it all in arctic waters is a riot with some seriously fun times. My boat, the Minnow, has weathered some sporty conditions in some seriously bad weather and this does not even take into account James Bay. Kayaking in San Diego during a storm, purposely for training, the Minnow and I ran into 16 foot waves in the main Mission Bay channel. Open ocean breakers were about 12 feet and running hard. The channel was wicked and felt like I was kayaking in a washing machine. Waves were bouncing off both side walls and converging and crashing everywhere. The Minnow would crest a wave and bury her nose in the trough .The wave would continue over me as her nose climbed the next wave. Sporty, but oh so much fun. Great times in the continuing search for excellence.

James Bay Expedition

The James Bay Expedition was my search for my own limits and my ability to live in the impossible. Until my kayaking trip on James Bay, no one had paddled on those waters and survived. As far as I know, even to this day, I am the only one. James Bay is notorious for fast arriving and deadly storms. The bays tides move at 4 knots and faster with vertical gains of 10 to 12 feet, the water is a balmy 38 degrees even in the summer. Bathing water temperatures for a beluga whale but not for this desert-dwelling, Hawaiian warm-water lover. My survival time was about 15 minutes if I went in. But I did survive kayaking almost 150 miles on the bay. Not a complete success to what my plan was but getting off James Bay and breathing is a monumental success and, of course, I did this solo too.

The Minnow took some tough damage to her Kevlar hull in one very serious storm that just about did me in. James Bay was close but not close enough to deliver a dirt nap to this Marine. I also took this storm on at night navigating only by a compass mounted on the Minnows hull. The tides dictate life itself on these cold waters. With cold waves breaking over your boat, winds howling and the rain driven sideways into your face, one can only ask why? Enjoyment, commitment and a love for all that nature can muster to spoil your day. These days make living more intense and more passionate. They bring life to its lowest common denominator, breathing. Does it get any simpler? Does it get any more majestic than that?

Photography

The past few years I have intensified fieldwork for my wildlife photography. I spend more time in the field working with lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Well, how about bears, moose, elk, wolves, antelope and bison. Actually if you visit thegallery you will see even more animals. I love this time in the wild, cruising with my critter friends and understanding them in their homes. It is a great privilege to be able to visit with these animals and share these visits with all that want to see and enjoy my images and dreams.

Einstein's Adventures

A special dream of mine is to bring and share my world with others, especially children. That is why I have teamed up with Einstein to bring to all this series of books based on nature and animals. Einstein’s Adventures is an educational series based on National Parks and other recreational lands. Einstein teaches in an interactive way about natural process’s in our environment, history, biological and geological process’s. Einstein visits each Park and provides children with a wonderful overview of the Park from his perspective. All the books are filled with wonderful photographic images to illustrate all that Einstein teaches and also shows Einstein at play and at work. Our dream, Einstein and Mingo’s, is to bring the outdoors to children everywhere. To share what we see and experience. To share a dream with all children!

When I’m not on an expedition, in the field playing with large critters, climbing or hanging out with Einstein, I can be found at home in Yucca Valley, California.