Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man:A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 40

This is the fortieth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 40: The Back Forty.

"Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself: and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean from the earthstains of this sordid, gold-seeking crowd in God's pure air. It will help you in your efforts to bring to these men something better than gold. Don't lose your freedom and your love of the Earth as God made it."

-John Muir

Alaska Days with John Muir (Hall Young, 1915)

No matter the size of the piece of property, I have heard many people refer to a place as the back forty. This usually implies that the piece of property is far away from everything else, and typically is unconnected in any way. It could be argued that the entire Rocky Mountain region during the mountain man’s time of yesteryear was history’s largest ever back forty. The entire area where the trappers and traders ventured into was away from all known and connected pieces of nineteenth century society, save for a few creature comforts they simply couldn't and didn't want to live without. It is strange to think that even as remote and isolated as they were for great periods of time, their very actions and undertakings were driving a huge financial market and making Westward expansion feasible in the following years.

I have always envisioned my own personal back forty not as a physical place per se, but a mindset or even more specifically an activity that I could use to escape the known and often less-desirable parts of being in a well- functioning society

A few years back I was working for a large camping organization that owned and operated several facilities throughout the region. One of my responsibilities was to oversee the programs and staff at the specific sites. This responsibility included both the internal programs and the external customers that may lease the property for their own programs and purposes. Either way, a very strict risk management plan was in place to help ensure staff and guest groups met the requirements to competently and professionally lead the programs. One of the types of programs that carried the most regulations and restrictions were programs that included the use of ropes and harnesses; this would certainly include any type of climbing program. One particular school wanted to do a climbing wall session and needed two belayers. I could personally be one of the climbing wall staff, but I did not have another staff member that was available. I gave this school the stipulations and told them that if they knew anyone, I could verify that they would meet the organization's standards. The gentleman they found was a very prominent climbing guide and expedition leader with many years of guiding experience, and an alphabet soup of certification letters behind his name. Needless to say he may have been the most overly qualified climbing wall belayer in history.

This experience was early in my career as an outdoor leader, and my enthusiasm for all outdoor adventures, both personal and professional was boundless. As I worked with this gentleman over a period of several days, we became cordial friends and had many conversations about life's greatest questions. I will never forget what he said about ice climbing on his own on his days off, it was something to the tune of don't defecate where you consume food. In other words, I do this so often for work I cannot do this on days when I’m not working or I will burnout. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but I would grow to understand this, especially as my own children began to grow and desperately wanted to play in God’s great creation with me.

It can become very difficult over time to do an outdoor activity both personally and professionally and yet still undertake that activity just for enjoyment sake. This is where I found myself in the camping world several years ago. I made a conscious decision to leave fishing as my proverbial back forty. This was a place I could go to get away from it all, if only for fleeting moments. Even though I had been asked many times to teach and lead fishing programs, I simply could not allow myself to do this. I needed a back forty to mentally and physically reset from time-to-time. If fishing became an activity that I would also lead professionally, the ability for me to use it as an escape would be lost. It took several years before I would even allow my own children to go with me on local fishing trips, even if it was just to watch quietly. This desire to spend time with me and learn how to fish, instilled a new sense of purpose in my time spent visiting the back forty.

First Fish On!

Staying passionate and enthusiastic about the outdoor programs and activities that we lead is paramount to our success in the long-term as a professional outdoor leader. The ultimate reason my family and I made the choice to permanently leave the resident camping and conference world as full-time residents came from the fact that I was no longer finding joy in doing the activities I personally loved so much after spending weeks doing them professionally. This was certainly much easier to manage when it was just my personal and professional time, but when my children's time also became a factor it was time for us to make a family change. Certainly more power to the camp families that can effectively balance these three components, but for my family and me, it was time to move on.

I want my own children to experience all that the great outdoors has to offer, it is after all one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind, with my full and undivided attention. Eventually my children will also need to establish their own back forty as a place of escape, revitalization and a place to get "lost," but for now I am happy to share all of my proverbial acreage with my family.