The year was 2006. It had been over 25 years since I had last been in the deep back country; in the wilderness. I was 15 miles from the trailhead, in a basecamp in the Diamond Peak Wilderness in the Cascades of Oregon, with a secular Americorp group of early to mid-20s men and women.

In the summer of 2014, high in the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the Ansel Adam Wilderness, men wrestled with the faith and reason of leadership. Each evening, following days of moving rocks weighing hundreds or even thousands of pounds, building trails for horses, mules and backpackers, masculine brawn gave way to Fides et Ratio.

Idaho was calling us. We first reached out to the USFS in Idaho during the spring of 2007. Several times in the history of Wilderness Outreach we have made an agreement with Forest Service units and NGOs to help get us into the backcountry, only to be jilted, when it finally dawns on them that we really are and all male Catholic group. Chalk it up to political correctness and cancel culture. This is how we found the good USFS folks in Idaho. You see, all we want, and need is a backcountry location requiring a lot of work, food, and some logistical help to get us there. Someplace we have the freedom to practice the 5 Disciplines and the art and science of Manhood building. Given these we believe that we get way more done the typical secular volunteer trail crew.

The Black Range rises up out of the southwestern New Mexico desert, in the center of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness, straddled by the Gila desert to the west and the Rio Grande valley on the east. Looking up from the desert one would not expect to find that the rugged peaks are covered in aspen and ponderosa pine, dense forests providing sanctuary for bear, mountain lion, deer and other wilderness creatures. There are mountain saddles on the Black Range where you can look down 5000’ to the desert floor below, both east and west, see a thunderstorm and rainbow on one side and a sunset on the other.

Brian, Father and I backpacked into Emerald Lake in the Gros Ventre Wilderness in Wyoming. We were planning on a 50-mile loop to see what kind of work the trails needed for future expeditions. When we arrived at the lake we decided on a different strategy; use the lake as our basecamp and do exploratory day hikes from there. It was a good temporary mountain home we shared with the eagles, wolves and bear.

A few years ago, I made a recruiting presentation for an upcoming expedition to a parish men’s group, following their typical Saturday morning men’s meeting.  The priest from the parish was going to be the expedition chaplain and wanted as many men from his parish that he could get. He saw it as an opportunity to create a well bonded band of brothers in his parish. It was a good-sized group 60 or more men. I gave my typical short but powerful presentation which included a two-minute-high mountain video, and details and maps of the expedition. I invited the men to ask questions and sign up; crickets. Following the meeting only two men ventured forward. One of them who approached from the rear of the room locked in my gaze.