Twenty-five Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago today, I turned an important corner, not only in my life, but into a geographic realm beyond my imagination. My physical body crossed from Wisconsin, where I had spent many years of my life, into Minnesota along the shore of Lake Superior. It was a moment that stands apart from time. This change of course, from heading pretty much due West, swinging North, by Northeast along the North Shore of The Greatest Lake, made me aware of my anonymity as well as my infinite spirit. Leading off into the distant future was a path that was both undeniably my own and intimately entwined with each and every other organism that lives, has lived and will ever live around these inland seas. I was barely a week into my Great Lakes Bicycle Tour, but my young body had already turned from a tentative young man into a stoic and experienced traveler. I was shedding pounds and lightening my panniers with each meal. As I entered the North, the scars of extraction were all around me. Heavily silted waterways, deforested areas that stretched for miles, heaps of acid mine waste and open pits that might never again support life were all around me. The mining and milling industries that built the great fortunes of city dwellers far far away had left scars so deep that after one hundred years, the ugliness of them remained, spread out across the landscape. Plainly visible for anyone to see, but understood by few, if any, of those who were speeding by on the highways at breakneck speed.

I had rested up for an extra day in Superior, Wisconsin enjoying some down time after pushing though the pain of hundred mile days. In that first week, I had experienced snow, sleet, rain and one crisp night that froze my tires to the ground so thoroughly that leaves, dirt and pine needles stuck to them and created a funny sound as they swished past the frame on each revolution. I was happy and sad, tired and energized, but the overarching goal of making my way around all five Great Lakes just got that much closer. I was as far away from home as I had ever been, yet I felt as one with the earth as ever as well. I could feel the Living Earth, cheering me on, the wind, finally, at my back and the freshening breeze bringing the warmth of spring to the region. As I passed the Viking ship in Duluth, I felt the presence of my ancestors, buoying my energy reserves and keeping me aware of the deeper meanings behind any pilgrimage. Losing one relationship between who we thought we were and who we may find ourselves to be is part and parcel of any voyage. Rather than crossing the great water as my viking ancestors had, I was circumnavigating them, finding my way with a series of maps that were more or less handed down to me from wizened old travelers and mapmakers of high repute. rather than seeing images of maps and having to infer what must be there, i was seeing what was actually out there and condensing that knowledge into the lines and color fields that I had in my pocket.

The ultimate shift in my course was to switch from thinking that I had power to change the course of history to wanting to change myself. the only thing I have absolute responsibility for and dominion over is, in fact, my own self. how that shakes out amongst my fellow humans is for them to determine and amongst their own lives they must take responsibility for their own part in making the world better as they see fit. My own ego had been trying to stay in charge, but as I was finding, powers beyond my comprehension were at work in my days, my nights and even those beautiful moments in-between the two. I began to feel a deep connection to the waters, the rock and the thin soils of the area, working my own special magic wherever I stopped to honor and respect what I would find there, what I took away from them and what I left behind. At this point, making my way up the shore toward the border with Canada, any demons that had led me to question my ability were vanquished, any doubts about my convictions evaporated and the truth of my own message, which I shared with others each and every time I stopped , stopped being just words, but a reflection of the voices of the trees, the water and the very wind which I was becoming one with. I seriously questioned whether I would be able to be clear about my mission, adept at bringing salient information to communities that I had not lived amongst for very long and if it would be possible to capture the imagination of those I would meet along the way. What I was beginning to find is that more often than not, my message was not only received, but shared and welcomed by both individuals and the news outlets that I provided with interviews. As I skirted the shoulder of the Canadian Shield, riding near the border between land and the lake, every turn revealed a more beautiful sight. Except for the areas that had been poisoned by mining, each cascade was more wonderful than the previous one, each tiny hamlet and locality was more picturesque. Each settlement was more focused on the values and approaches that we would one day call sustainable.

What I was seeing reflected in both the people and their passions was an undying commitment to one another that is exemplified in nature. Just as the tree falling in the woods feeds the soils that will provide a footing for another generation of trees, the falling of the great extractive economies of the past has given rise to a new way of life that respects the Earth, cares about water, and has learned some of the lessons of taking without giving back, grabbing the money and running and the responsibility we all have to one another. I was turning onto a new road, into a new culture and finding my true self, free of the limitations that I had placed upon myself.

What Are Ecotours?

I have been an ecotourist since before the term was coined. The clearest vision of what this term means to me is that the ECO part is first and the tour part is second. First off, ECO-Tours require an adaptability that can be found in nature. Not only do travelers adapt their own behaviors to become more integrated in the environment, but they take the time to realize the inevitable impacts that they may be bringing to the areas that they visit and actively work to offset them, thus preserving the integrity or enhancing the natural cohesion amongst the communities and niches that they find there. Eco-tours can be trans-formative, especially in this age. Not only for the planet and the ecology of an area, but for the individual who begins to see themselves as part of the larger whole than many of us could have imagined before the tour is taken.
A brief review of information on what is called Leave No Trace Camping allows us to understand more fully the possible mistakes that we could make when going intro the field. Leave No Trace gets serious about some of the principles that underlie the foundations of ECO-Tours. There are also several good resources regarding the Rap 101 (basic boring bullshit) that allows us to shift our perspective from seeking a Disneyland style, mediated experience and immersion in our natural surroundings. Environmentalists tend to focus on the physical world and the natural organisms and processes that take place in an area, but the ecotourist who stops there is also missing much of the experience. Human culture and responsible interaction with the native people is part of the process of transforming ourselves to not so much blend in, but to responsibly interact with the populations that will remain after the tourist departs.
Often, the ECO-Tour is the beginning of a heart to heart with a region, a specific river valley, a mountain or estuary. The Earth can literally speak to us in ways that exploitative tours can never approximate. Being engaged in the living processes of the landscape, we are able to see with new eyes. Years ago, I learned that in many places around the world, harvesting wood for fires is the number one cause of deforestation. bringing one's own fuel for cooking in these areas is essential if we are to not be part of the problem, or agents of negative change for native people. After we leave, the ripples continue to spread out across the living tapestry of life that we have interacted with. ECO-Tours reflect an awareness of this and seek to minimize the negative impacts while enhancing the sustainability of the natural systems that brought us to the area in the first place.
Folks who used to hike and camp with me thought it odd that I frequently opted for smooth soled shoes and would even walk barefoot across the land. After years of scientific inquiry, this method of hiking has been found to be healthier for the environment in several ways. Deep lugs on the soles of our shoes can not only scar the path, if there is one, but create mud and rip at tiny root hairs close to the surface. They can transport invasive species from one location to another, creating damage that could blossom into a major threat years after we have gone home.
Years ago, I was given several nicknames by my travel companions. Tony Appleseed, God's Exterior Decorator and Crazy Guy to name a few. I would often work to do trail building and maintaining, working to minimize the possibility of wash outs on the trails, or making sure that the path would create the least damage by strategically placing stepping stones or creating retaining walls and laying downed trees across the hills, terracing and helping to build soil, thinning over planted mono-cultures or planting native plants in appropriate areas that would create habitat or slow erosion. the Earth has been my guide in ways that are difficult to put into words, but those who pay attention to what they are seeing, not just taking a glance at the natural world, but truly integrating with it will know of what I speak.
I have a friend who is an old hunter who has not taken an animal in over twenty years, although he has had many opportunities to do so. The last creature he fired upon was a wounded fawn who was trailing intestines out of a gaping hole in it's side created by another hunter, perhaps days earlier. The mercy he showed to that tiny creature stayed with him. He still carries a gun with him in the woods,"just in case" and so that other hunters don't question why he is there, but he is there for the experience of being in the woods, not just seeing it like a passerby might, but as a living breathing part of the environment. He has been taking ecotours for longer than the word has existed as well. although we all must find our way toward a future that remains illusive, knowing where we are at any specific moment and understanding our reason for being there as well as our purpose can liberate even the most caged mind, body and spirit. Often people who embark on tours of this kind reflect on what they have learned, not only about the planet, or a specific place, but what they have learned about themselves.
Ecotours are far more than can be put into words. Ironically, they enhance rather than exploit places that are visited. Instead of leaving a path of destruction behind as we motor through the world, ecotours allow us to weave ourselves and the benefits of a conscientious organism into the tapestry of life that makes up the ecosphere. The very Earth that we inhabit deserves to be respected. Learning what to leave home before we travel and understanding ways that we can take only what we really need can change any trip into an ecotour. The soul searching and prioritizing that goes into planning for and taking an ecotour will always yield learning opportunities and insight that is not available to the traditional tourist. When we take time to integrate ourselves into nature, the rewards are truly infinite and when we return to our "normal lives" we can bring a bit of nature with us, reflecting itself as ways of living more lightly on the earth and with vision as to how we might reduce our negative impacts at home as well.