He Lives in a Tree, Wears NO shoes, and Brushes his teeth with a Pine Cone

 

According to polls, the majority of Americans and many other societies are in favor of change. An estimated 20 percent believe the States are on the right track, but when it comes to health care, environmental reform, and economic division, the masses believe change is imperative. But how far are many willing to go in order to live a more sustainable, connected, and happier life?

With the conveniences of today (packaged food, media frenzy, rapid transportation), it is difficult for many to know a life different from that which has been shown to degenerate, numb, and dull the senses. Not often do kids summon creativity to work random objects into play things, for now their noses are pressed against tablets, IPads, and television screens. But things are changing, and the few, but inspirational, examples which shed light on another way of life may cause perceived ‘ideals’ to change.

For Mick Dodge, his dynamic transformation from living what modern society deems ‘appropriate’ came 25 years ago. He decided to ditch his shoes, grow his beard, and leave his family and all rest in modern civilization to live alone in the Pacific Northwest’s Hoh rain forest. But he is not a complete isolationist; he joined a community of mountain dwellers and agreed (with some persistent effort from producers) to be the subject of National Geographic’s series “The Legend of Mick Dodge”.

In the first story shared, National Geographic captured Doge’s mission to scatter his deceased father’s ashes up in the mountains – if he could recall where he stashed them. “My family has perfected the art of dodging civilizations for hundreds of years. All I have to do is follow my feet,” said the backwoods philosopher.

In another interview with Mother Nature Network, Dodge comes across as a memorable and quirky character with a unique perspective on life.

MNN: What was your life like before you moved to the woods? Did you have a job? Did you get an education?

Mick Dodge: Yes, as a heavy equipment mechanic. I have also dug ditches, chopped wood, washed dishes, and taught the Earth Gym practices. I graduated Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan. Never been to college, but like to read books. If the book makes sense and has value for the earth, I plant a tree and share the book. If the book does not make sense, I plant a tree for it and use it as [toilet] paper or fire starter. My life was about the same as it is now, learning the ways to walk and explore physical exercise and how to create a physical practice that finds the middle ground between the wild and tame, between the gated wild and the walls of modern domestication. However, I must add that I have no feet pain, back pain and my heart is strong [since] I became a barefoot nomad.

What prompted you to go to the forest in the first place?

My feet hurt. I had hammertoes, plantar fasciitis, deformed feet. They hurt so bad that I could barely walk and I had always used my walk and run to handle the stress of modern living, make sense of the modern world story that I was living in, and the Hoh is home for me. So I went home to heal my feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In following my feet I found myself stepping out of the insulation of the modern world and landing in the earth. The    results came quickly. Not only were my feet healing, but my back pain, neck pain and most of all my heart pain disappeared, and in no time at all I was back into a dead run, stepping out of the sedentary, stressed, sedated and secured living of the modern world. I was muscling my mind into the heart of the matter. I was dancing as the fire, running as the wind, strengthening as the stone and flowing as the water within, by the simple act of touching with my bare soles and allowing the Earth to teach. It is a simple matter to follow your feet, but is does not come easy. The Earth will eat you if you are not paying attention.

Is there anything you miss about modern civilization?

I don’t miss it. There is no way to get away from it. So I developed a physical fitness practice in how to step in and out of it, stepping out of the walls, machines, electronics, social babble for awhile, ground back into the natural flow of the land, and then go back in.

What’s the best and worst part of this lifestyle?

Wherever there is good there is bad. That is the game of life. My passion in life is to explore, engage, challenge and balance whatever comes in the three terrains that I run through.

I don’t imagine there are many mountain women out there. Do you get lonely?

On my journey, I have formed so many wonderful connections with women, formed strong brother-and-sister relationships with them. I may not be able to figure out what they are always talking about. But if their soles are touching the Earth, I am more able to figure it out. A few years ago my path wandered into the Cedar Woman. We share a common vision of these Olympic Mountains and a deep musing of the lands, and in order for a vision to manifest from the Earth it takes a mission — a mission brings it to a physical reality. Cedar, along with others, created the Olympic Mountain Earth Wisdom Circle. Our lives are guided by the musings that come from living in a deep connection with the Earth, and Cedar holds the feminine wisdom fire of our hearth, which I keep coming back to, what I call the base camp.

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