The Wilderness and Wellness Podcast

In this Wilderness and Wellness “Short”, I introduce the inaugural episode for a new format that I plan to start releasing and delve into a passage from Eckhart Tolle's "Oneness With All Life". Based on Eckhart's teachings in this passage I discuss the way that the thinking mind perceives organic natural spaces as chaos, whereas the quiet mind of "being" perceives a sacred order. I offer commentary on the importance of the "being mind" while in nature to develop a participatory relationship w...

In this seventh episode of my tracking series I get out in the field with Bryon Lichtenhan of Sky Island Alliance to volunteer doing some work in gathering data for a border wall study that the conservation organization is conducting. In this journalistic style episode we learn from Bryon and the Executive Director of Sky Island Alliance, Louise Misztal, why wildlife migration corridors along the border are important, the threat that the looming border wall poses to these corridors, and how t...

In this fifth episode of my tracking series I had the privilege of discussing the topic of mantracking and its applications with European mantracking instructor Kyt Lyn Walken. Kyt and I delve into the many ways that mantracking can be utilized, from survival scenarios to anti-poaching operations and so much more. We talk about the differences and similarities between wildlife tracking and mantracking, some historical situations where mantracking has been employed, and some resources for peop...

In this episode I sit down for a chat with mother, wife, survivalist, fishing and big game hunting guide, and Alone Show Season 6 contestant Michelle Wohlberg. Michelle talks about growing up in the Canadian bush hunting and trapping, the events leading up to and how she prepared for her time on the Alone show. Michelle gives us more details about her experience on the show and the mental and physical recovery she went through afterwards. She fills us in on her recent adventures as a backcoun...

In this second episode of my tracking series I delve more specifically into the ways that tracking contributes to human wellness. I talk about humans’ evolutionary roots within the cradle of the natural world and how this existence predisposes our bodies, minds, and spirits for more natural ways of being. I make the bold statement that it is my belief that tracking, and wildlife tracking specifically, is the most effective activity for reconnecting with the natural world and garnering the hea...

In this introductory episode for a series specifically about tracking, I introduce the concept of tracking by discussing what tracking is, why we as humans are all equipped to be trackers, why our history as trackers contributes to our capability to read words on paper, among other things, and the possibilities and feats of skilled trackers. I also discuss some basic terminology, talk about the meta-level questions of Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, which outlines the various arts of tr...

In this episode I sit down for a conversation with Mike Masek, community herbalist, and educator who runs “The Forager’s Path School of Botanical Studies”. We talk about Mike’s journey into the world of herbs and his promotion of the concept of “Community Herbalism”. We talk about the efficacy of herbal medicine and the best way to approach it to gain the most benefits in light of our “cure in a pill” society. We also discuss ways to begin using herbs at home and methods for getting out...

Join me for a discussion with the Pawson-Ryan family as they tell the story of their journey into the world of birds. We learn about David and how his friend Noel introduced him to birding which had a profound effect on him, causing him to do a complete about-face in his education track as a PhD candidate in engineering. We then learn about how David’s newfound obsession for birding slowly rubbed off on his partner Alison, and then quickly bled over to her parents and sister, giving them a ne...