As a Colorado native, my dad made sure to get us out camping, fishing, or hiking.  I’ll admit that I didn’t love those long hikes, but at 14, he nudged me right into the deep end with all the expectations elk hunting requires of you. Suddenly, it was like he let me in on a secret world, and I found a way to truly connect with him for the first time. He would explain to me why we move the way we do, why the elk behave the way they do – he calls them “timber ghosts”. My favorite memories are flooded by mornings at timberline just before dawn, listening as the day awakens, chasing timber ghosts.

My heart lives where Colorado’s highest peaks rise. These places whisper secrets, every year there’s a new lesson. There is no other place where I feel more centered spiritually, challenged and grounded as a human.  Our public land is a place where the past/present/future collide for us; we get to hear our parent’s stories of their own triumphs and failures on the same land, and we will pass on our own. LWCF is going to ensure that future is protected, and that is invaluable.

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