The inspired generation

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

By Brooke Williams

If I had to name the 10 books that changed my life, “On the Loose” by Terry and Renny Russell might top the list.

It’s a small book, written in perfect calligraphy and illustrated with “dime store” photos. The book is filled with quotes about wildness and adventure, quotes from notables like Aldo Leopold, James Joyce and Winston Churchill, but also from the authors themselves, who showed wisdom far beyond their years – they were 21 and 19 years old when they wrote it in 1964. Over a million copies of “On the Loose” have been sold, more than any other Sierra Club Book.

My obsession with this book goes back to my receiving it as a gift – the hardcover edition, in a blue slip cover – in the late ’60s, just as I my obsession with wildness was beginning to present itself. Thinking back, I remember wanting to model my life after the Russell brothers, and actually believing that I could.

“On the Loose” set the tone for my believing in “wild lives” while making me realize that in this modern world, outdoor adventure and wild experience carry two levels of responsibility. The first is the responsibility we have for ourselves and our loved ones when we risk our lives. In fact, Renny’s life has been defined by Terry’s death in a river accident in 1967 (Renny managed to get himself to shore and had to walk across the desert for three days before he found help). The second responsibility is protecting the wild places that make our experience possible. I don’t doubt for a second that this simple book played a major role in my choosing conservation as a career.

I’m part of a unique generation that just happened to grow up with the need to be out moving around in the wild during the time of the first Earth Day and the signing of the Wilderness and Endangered Species acts. We’re between 50 and 75 years old now, and for many of us that early wild experience, the awakening of our culture to conservation, and that dog-eared copy of “On the Loose” combined to form the foundation for what we would become. As I remember it, everyone who spent time in the wild during the ’60s and ’70s was proud to call himself an environmentalist.

“Outdoor recreation” became more mainstream during the ’80s, which encouraged significant innovation and growth in the “outdoor industry.” New gear made adventure easier and safer and more popular. Conservation was still a factor (“outdoor” people had to at least pretend that they cared about wild places).

Today, I wonder. I’m not sure that most young climbers, skiers, bikers feel any direct connection between wild adventure and conservation. There are efforts being made to remedy this. Nationally, the Conservation Alliance, which for many years has been raising money from outdoor product companies to be used to save the outdoors, is now working with the industry to increase the environmental awareness of those who buy gear to use in the wild. Locally, Jim Rooks, the principal at Summit High School, is working with his staff on a curriculum designed to help students develop a meaningful and responsible relationship with their natural surroundings.

I’m thinking about this now because two months ago Renny Russell called me about a trip to Jackson Hole he was planning. He’ll be here to promote his new book, “Rock Me on the Water,” the story of his life leading up to and after “On the Loose” (with references to Jackson, including a visit to his father who owned the Teton Mystery House), and especially his struggle adjusting to life without his brother.

I would love to make Renny’s visit to Jackson a reunion of sorts, bringing together people whose lives are different because of “On the Loose.” I hope everyone who comes brings a young person. Perhaps this event could help a new generation imagine what might fill the same niche in their lives that “On the Loose” did in ours.

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