Hipcampout Summer Series: Ecology with Charles Post

As the Friday sun dipped below the shoreline and painted the Bodega Bay sky a fiery pink-orange, a group of outdoorsmen-and-women set up camp at Chanslor Ranch for a weekend of ecological insight.

Once the Eddie Bauer tents had been pitched and any remaining daylight disappeared for good, we retreated to the fire, where we shared introductions over Fort Point brews, Underwood canned wine, and what would be the start of many top notch snacks. Sooner or later, we all burned out, much like the fire, and crawled into our sleeping bags to the serenading symphony of waves crashing in the distance.

The following morning began as many great mornings throughout history have: with Stumptown Coffee and a very serious breakfast taco setup. After properly fueling up with caffeine and chorizo, the group gathered at a Salmon Creek riverbed—our home base of sorts for the weekend—where we were joined by our three guests of honor. We met Charles Post—a renowned Bay Area ecologist and storyteller—as well as a pair of his colleagues and personal heroes: April Bencze and Tavish Campbell, two dedicated marine conservationists who made the 20-hour drive from their home in British Columbia to share their knowledge and passion.

We first lent our ears to Charles, who has spent a good chunk of his life educating himself and others on the abundance of wildlife present not only in and around the Bay Area, but across the globe. He shared his wealth of information, putting a spotlight on several different fish, animals, and insects native to the land we were congregated on. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but stop himself mid-sentence on several occasions and point to the sky, identifying a variety of different birds flying above while rattling off an interesting fact or two per species. He opened a discussion on how truly connected every aspect of nature is, citing salmon and their incredibly important and interesting role in many ecosystems as an example—a point April and Tavish would soon elaborate on.

After a quick-yet-delicious pizza lunch break, we reconvened for a trail walk, led by April and Tavish. Our group settled into a dried up patch of riverbank, where our Canadian friends dove deep into an extensive session on all things salmon.

We learned of the long and arduous life journey of Pacific Salmon—after they hatch, they often travel hundreds or even thousands of miles up and down the coast before eventually returning to their birthplace to spawn and, shortly thereafter, die. In an effort to show how connected everything in the natural world is, April and Tavish highlighted the annual fall voyage of salmon: as the fish make the lengthy trek back to their birthplace, bears and wolves gather at the water’s edge to hunt; when the predators secure their prey, they carry it into the forest to eat, and the nitrogen-rich carcasses they leave behind fertilize the surrounding trees, which ultimately create the oxygen we breathe.

Once our waterside workshop wrapped up, we had time to explore the surrounding land independently before regrouping at one of the ranch’s many vistas for an out-of-this-world dinner. The view was just as stellar as the meal, and as we cleaned our plates, darkness fell and we began to make our way back down the rocky trail to the river bed.

As we sparked a fresh fire and roasted marshmallows, the acoustic trio Salt Suns manned their instruments and treated us to what can only be described as the ideal fireside tunes.

Leaning back and craning our necks upward, we admired the vast canvas of stars and reflected upon a weekend spent learning more about wildlife and the how to better share our earth. When the sun rose in the morning, we packed up our gear, our newfound vat of salmon knowledge, and our polished sense of connection to the natural world, leaving Chanslor Ranch with full hearts, minds, and souls.

THANKS TO OUR RAD FRIENDS

A HUGE thank you to Charles Post, April Bencze and Tavish Campbell for sharing their knowledge of ecology and inspiring our love for the natural world!

Thank you to Eddie Bauer for making these campouts possible. Remember to follow @eddiebauer and #liveyouradventure for inspiration for your next outdoor adventure. In addition to their ongoing support through funding and resources, they were generous enough hook us all up with great tents and goodie bags filled with camping essentials.

Thank you to Union Wine Co, Fort Point Beer, and Stumptown Coffee, for your generosity in providing the delicious wine, beer, and coffee for these campouts!

Thanks to Klean Kanteen, every guest was given a stainless steel bottle and cup making us very happy campers, indeed.

Thanks to Lodge Cast Iron for the dutch ovens to cook with and to Coleman for the stove and the coolers!

All photos taken by Hipcamp photographers Carlos Loya and Jay Kijai.