Clik here to view.
Fencepost Vertebrae, Sapphire Mountains, Montana
Of all the treasures I find on my hikes, my favorites are skulls and skeletons. I love the way bare bones stand out stark against any landscape. After years of seeking, I can spot them in tall grass, in woods, in brush. I love lifting them off the ground, shaking out the debris from the cracks and crevasses and studying their contours. Bare bones have such gravity; they demand respect and I handle them carefully, looking and listening, while they tell me their stories. I can tell prey from predator, ungulate from bovine, canine from feline. As far as I know I’ve never found a human bone.
Bare bones are the ultimate offerings, left behind by those who have come before me. I find them most often off trail, where I’m likely to be the first person to have passed since the animal laid down to die, or was killed and eaten. I have no right to claim such sacred objects as my own. They belong to the land, to any enterprising animal who might come along and carry them away. After admiring the bones, recreating the animal’s life and death, and photographing them thoroughly, I leave the offerings in a safe spot where I can revisit them, someday, if I’m lucky enough to pass that way again.
Clik here to view.
Snake Skeleton, Shenandoah, Virginia
Clik here to view.
Kansas Cow Skull & D.O.G.
Clik here to view.
Big Horned Sheep, Collegiate Peaks, Colorado
Clik here to view.
Coyote! Wild Rivers, New Mexico
Clik here to view.
Jackrabbit!
Clik here to view.
Elk & D.O.G., San Antonio Dome, New Mexico
Clik here to view.
Bowie & Nebraska Bone
Clik here to view.
Old Cow Bone, Cerrillos, New Mexico
Clik here to view.
5-point Antler from a 10-point Buck, Northern New Mexico
Clik here to view.
The Blonde Coyote & Goat Skull, Cerrillos, New Mexico
Clik here to view.
Coyote Skull, Juniper Tree, Cerrillos, New Mexico
Clik here to view.
Bowie’s Treasure, Cerrillos, New Mexico
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
