Mothers

Mothers

Don’t forget the 17-year-old Hispanic girl who came to the coast having given birth to a daughter less than one month prior. She had come to the coast with her school class to participate in an outdoor education program for a week during which she would help mentor and teach hoards of obnoxious wild 6th-graders. Her parents encouraged her to participate and essentially forced her to follow through with the commitment when she showed resistance. Leave her newborn behind?! Continue reading “Mothers”

The Going Green Mental Health Trend

Going Green

Last week, our world leaders met in Paris, France in order to attend the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss our world, our environment, and our goals for the future.

Our World.

Our Environment.

Our Goals.Continue reading “The Going Green Mental Health Trend”

A Lesson in Gratitude

Gratitude

 

“It’s Thanksgiving morning, we’re stuck in the woods, and you’re making us hike!?”

“It will be worth it! I promise.” I replied, hoisting my day-pack over my shoulders.

The group of adolescent guys converged at the trailhead to wait for the day’s venture. Their boots were worn. There was ash tarnishing the fabric of their jackets and patchy beards forming on their grim faces.Continue reading “A Lesson in Gratitude”

The Key to Thanksgiving Happiness

The Giving Tree

Once there was a tree.

Well, multiple trees.

The trees around my childhood home were alive in a sense of mysticism and imagination.

They each displayed a personality and a sense of responsibility.Continue reading “The Key to Thanksgiving Happiness”

When the Mountain is in Control

Mount Washington 4

The mountain is small, comparatively speaking, but it’s weather patterns rival those of the harshest in the world making it one of the United States’ most dangerous mountains.

I was aware of this and many other facts about Mount Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  I was aware that in 1934, the weather station built atop the mountain captured the highest wind velocity ever recorded. An astounding 231 mph. I knew that there have been nearly 150 deaths recorded since 1849 and about 25 reported injuries on the mountain each year. I was aware of all of these statistics when my friend and I pulled into the Appalachian Mountain Club Lodge parking lot late that autumn. Continue reading “When the Mountain is in Control”

The Lost Trail of Self-Doubt

The Lost Trail of Self-Doubt

You are hiking. With each step, your boots crunch over a layer of freshly fallen leaves strewn about the forest. The leaves are orange, yellow, and red, and they shine in the sunlight all around you. The autumn air is brisk and clean.Continue reading “The Lost Trail of Self-Doubt”

What is Wilderness Therapy? And Does it Work?

About page

Let me paint you a picture of wilderness therapy. We are sitting in the forest along a mountain trail. The sun is high in the sky, casting golden beams through the green foliage. Within one of those beams sits a young man of 16 years. He sits by himself atop his backpack, boots placed firmly on the ground, elbows on his knees, and his gaze pours out upon the horizon. We walk up and take a seat in the dry dirt beside him.

“Are you alright?”Continue reading “What is Wilderness Therapy? And Does it Work?”