I was working a typical day job in Massachusetts, unmotivated and disconnected from what I really wanted in life, when I received a phone call that would change everything. It almost felt as if God had called and asked if I would like to try out heaven for a few months. But it wasn't really God; it was the chief naturalist at Zion National Park offering me a five-month seasonal position. I gave my current employer two hours’ notice, had some beers with my buddies that evening, and then drove two days non-stop to reach the Watchman Campground on the floor of Zion Canyon. Little did I know what lay ahead. That was the beginning of a 15-year period of wandering around the United States, living and working as an interpretive naturalist in some of America’s most beautiful national parks, including Zion, Yellowstone, Isle Royale and the Great Smoky Mountains. I would also spend two seasons working in the breathtaking backcountry of Wyoming’s 2.4-million-acre Shoshone National Forest and Colorado’s majestic 2-million-acre White River National Forest. Interspersed with these seasons were two very long hikes on the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails. These days, I find myself office-bound and living a more typical American life—indoors! But each and every day, my mind drifts back to that period of outdoor adventures and to the truly incredible people that I shared those adventures with. I now remember that time as the high watermark of my life and I can honestly say that I loved almost every minute of my years as a seasonal national park interpreter and national forest wilderness ranger.

Wanderings includes some of the most exciting and poignant memories of those years:

• One month into my first season with the National Park Service, I found myself first on the scene of a backcountry rescue involving a horrifically injured hiker.
• A helicopter landed in front of my forest service cabin and the pilot yelled at me, “Stop looking so stupid; just grab your fire pack.” After soaring over the spectacular Wind River Mountains, I was set down in “Hell’s Kitchen” to join Native Americans battling a forest fire.
• Deep in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, my campsite was invaded by black bears—a truly terrifying evening.

Like Henry David Thoreau, I learned how to survive on much less than our culture tells us we need, as I found joy and all I truly needed in the natural world. Wanderings and Confessions of a National Park Nomad is not only an account of those outdoor adventures but also an exploration of the underlying natural history of these beautiful places that the American people have set aside.