The Crab Apple Ritual Part 1

What is considered a time-honored mission in the wilderness, often makes little sense in the modern world of convenience, but out here, these rituals can become the backbone of our existence.  Billy Proctor inducted me into the annual crabapple harvest years ago and we’re pretty much the sole participants of the event now, although I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been a huge membership.  Not only are the crabapples the size of a fingernail, but it takes 1 1/2 hours to get to our hot-spot and it’s the coldest place out here.  You always have to dress in massive layers going to Wakeman Sound.  Gloves are a necessity.  I wore a t-shirt, a thin sweatshirt, a Patagonia puff jacket and my fleece-lined wool sweater, and that was on a sunny, warm day.  But there’s something even more wild, untamed and unpredictable about Wakeman Sound and since nearly starving in that big country years ago, I have a lot of respect for the place and love meandering through the small channels of the estuary, like the jungle cruise in Disneyland.

Welcome to Wakeman Sound…

(Just a reminder to click the blog title to view the video)