I have recently been re-reading a book titled, The Singing Wilderness, by Sigurd Olson. The
book was originally published back in 1956, but my first reading of it was in 1980. That was the year that I learned about Sigurd Olson and his fight to save the American wilderness.
In the late 1980s, I was nearing the end of several years of living in Henderson, Kentucky, and my own ongoing battles to promote conservation and environmental protection in that part of the country. Because I was planning to move from Kentucky, and as a final adventure in nature, a long-time friend of mine and I decided to make a week-long venture into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Northern Minnesota. While doing research for the planned trip, I discovered Sigurd Olson and his book. If you have never heard of Olson or The Singing Wilderness, I recommend that you do some reading about both. Or WATCH THIS FILM
We drove from Kentucky to Ely, Minnesota, which became our launching point into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Once we were all geared up by a local outfitter, we paddled off into a world of deep blue water and sky and emerald green trees. What an adventure we had! For an entire week, we saw not another person and we heard not a sound, other than the sounds created by nature. Within just a few hours all the stress that both of us had been feeling from the constant political arguments we had been involved with throughout the past months and years, simply melted away.
We plotted a daily course to a new campsite, we fished, we watched loons, we drank long, cool drinks of water directly from the lake and frequently we simply floated in the middle of some remote body of water and soaked in the sounds of “nothingness!” Many
afternoons we would cruise to some small island, come ashore for a bite to eat and then find some perfect place to sit on the shore, cast a lure or simply nod off in the blissful peace and quiet.
It took this trip for me to re-connect with nature and remember why it was that I care so much about, and fought so hard to protect the environment. In this fast-paced, and technologically-based society we live in, it is now even more important that we all re-connect with nature. You don’t have to take a week-long trip into the wilderness to do this either. But, you do need to find a “piece of nature” that you can take a stroll in, or just find a tree stump to sit on and listen. This natural spot does need to be at least far enough away from the constant noise of automobiles and the hubbub of “progress” so that you can actually hear nature speaking to you.
The re-reading of The Singing Wilderness brought back memories of that great trip in 1981 to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. What great memories it conjures up! However, in writing this post I decided to do a bit of research about this fantastic natural treasure and I am sorry to have learned about a proposed plan to create a Copper-Nickle mining operation within the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area watershed! Does the attack on nature ever stop?! I have already written to voice my opposition to this proposed, toxic disaster in the making. I urge you to visit Save The Boundary Waters and voice your own concerns.
In the meantime, find your own area of nature and go listen to what the birds, trees, and wind say to you.
“Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.” Sigurd Olson
Several years ago, I was invited to attend a meeting of the United States Golf Association, Turfgrass and Environmental Research Committee that was to be held in Southern Spain. I was a member of that committee for over 20 years and I worked with and met some great people during that time. One person who was on the committee, that has since passed away, was Jimmy Patino, who was the owner of Valderrama Golf Club in Spain. In fact, Jimmy funded all the Committee expenses to hold the meeting, which he hosted at Valderrama.