In the mid-1990s, I attended Utah State University in Cache Valley, northern Utah.

I was not much of a student or a socialite, so I spent most of my time procrastinating on doing my homework and exploring the nearby mountains.

My roommates learned not to worry if I didn't come home at night because I was an outdoor enthusiast.

I preferred camping under the stars to sleeping on a lumpy twin mattress in a noisy apartment complex.

My summer job allowed me to work in remote places like the front range of the Rockies,

the cellway in Idaho, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness near the Canadian border.

I'd spent more time in the mountains and woods than anyone I knew,

but I had never heard a howl, seen a track,

or come across any evidence that would support a Sasquatch theory.

I didn't even believe my father's story of a friend who had seen a hairy arm take a pie through a kitchen window.

I was always comfortable around critters and had a knack for approaching them in the wild.

I have had deer and elk come within feet of me while sitting down and eating my lunch.

I saw a Rocky Mountain wolf in Montana before the government introduced the Canadian

packs, which led to the native population going extinct. I've had both black and grizzly

bears so close that I could pet them, and I have fed cow moose from my hand in the wild.

The mountains near my university were steep and rugged. There were lots of places in the canyons

where the brush was thick, and a person would get pretty torn up if he went through much of it.

The peaks were high and beautiful when the early snowstorms dressed them in white, except

for the steep cliff faces where the snow can't rest.

There are several well-known caves in the mountains.

Minnetonka Cave is managed by the government, and you can take a guided tour if you like to see amazing underground formations.

The famous Logan Cave was a popular destination for adventurers when I was young, but it is now secured by a huge iron gate to keep people out and allow bats to fly as they please.

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