OUT-OF-DOORS Field Classes

Above is a textbook example of old-growth forest in Oregon's West Cascades. The largest and fire-charred trees are Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) 400 to 500 years old; the undercanopy trees are western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western redcedar (Thuja plicata).

THE PARTY'S OVER—THE END OF MY FIELD CLASSES

Beginning in 1986, I taught field classes in natural history throughout the West. From 1986 through 2003, these non-credit classes were offered through Lane Community College's continuing education program. From 2004 until 2014, however, I offered the classes privately through my tiny OUT-OF-DOORS business.

Over the years, I taught 80 (!) different field classes—a few of them ten or more times—from the Canadian Rockies to Baja California, and from Monterey Bay, California, to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (see the attachment below that shows all of these classes since 1986). My annual program typically included about a dozen classes—most of them from my existing repertoire, plus a couple of new ones. Some of the classes lasted only a day; others were multi-day. Overnight accommodations for the latter usually involved camping on public land and enjoying sit-down meals prepared in a portable camp-kitchen. But some years, we used a motel as a "base camp" for one of the multi-day classes, and ate in restaurants (e.g., Ochoco Autumn, 2010); or we stayed in rustic cabins and prepared our meals in a conventional kitchen (e.g., Metolius Autumn, 2012).

The cost of these field classes was very reasonable and included instruction, transportation by van, and, for multi-day classes, food.

But times change, and people grow older—even me! In addition, the requirements and costs for "using" federal or publicly-owned land—where most of my classes took place—had by 2014 become so onerous, that it was no longer an effective use of my brief time on this planet to fill out the mountains of paperwork and pay the huge fees for liability insurance in order to obtain for my business the Special Use Permit which, by law, I was required to have, since I was "using" federal land to make a (small) profit.

So I decided to close this little business of mine in August 2014. However, because I already had eight people who wanted to spend five days in the Waldo Lake area of Oregon's High Cascades, I decided to do one more outing—not as a business, but just for fun for these special friends of mine, all of whom I had met through my business over the years. And here are a few photos from our last outing together. I'm posting a brief video, too, on my YouTube channel; no dialog, just a view of the last OUT-OF-DOORS sunset, at Waldo Lake, which was beautifully choreographed by our dearest friend, Mother Nature, who always outdid herself on every trip we ever took together.

The 2014 program—the final year these classes were offered—is attached.

(This page updated 19 January 2022.)