Contemplating the Bowl Turtle
It is a frequent casualty claimed by the trail.
Jon Gorter (‘17) graduated from Calvin with degrees in English and environmental studies and holds an MS in natural resources from the University of Michigan. He enjoys fly fishing, mushroom foraging, and waterfall scrambling near his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
by Jon Gorter | Jul 28, 2021 | 2 comments
It is a frequent casualty claimed by the trail.
by Jon Gorter | Jun 28, 2021 | 1 comment
He’s the uncle that snores so I don’t like him, but he’s also the uncle that catches all the fish.
by Jon Gorter | May 28, 2021 | 1 comment
The bear ascended a steep rhododendron-covered slope which cut the distance between us and him in half.
by Jon Gorter | Apr 28, 2021 | 2 comments
The earth will teach you to pay attention if you listen to it, and it might even reward you with cool toads and tasty free snacks.
by Jon Gorter | Feb 28, 2021 | 6 comments
We’d set off toward Kice Island and everything would go as planned.
by Jon Gorter | Jan 28, 2021 | 9 comments
The mantra for dealing with predators is summarized succinctly by the three S’s: shoot, shovel, and shut up.
by Jon Gorter | Dec 28, 2020 | 1 comment
This was it. This was the moment my entire family would oust me from the clan.
by Jon Gorter | Nov 28, 2020 | 3 comments
Was this an encounter with some forest guardian, a mountain sprite who hikes miles through the misty mountains and sips water at hidden springs?
by Jon Gorter | Oct 28, 2020 | 3 comments
If you were placed into a story about first dates, you’d better know your fish diseases.
by Jon Gorter | Sep 28, 2020 | 5 comments
Buying a feeder isn’t something one does on a whim; it takes planning.
by Jon Gorter | Aug 28, 2020 | 5 comments
Watching a bird makes me think about a life other than my own.
by Jon Gorter | Jul 28, 2020 | 3 comments
As evening settles in, the flickering light of the fire illuminates the faces of family and friends gathered around, eager to hear another story from the family elders.
by Jon Gorter | Jun 28, 2020 | 4 comments
I don’t often think about my breath.
by Jon Gorter | Apr 28, 2020 | 3 comments
It’s hard to hear the voice inside my own head over the roar of the megasaw, much less the whisper of the earth.
by Jon Gorter | Feb 28, 2020 | 1 comment
There is only one antidote to party segregation that I know of, only one thing powerful enough to cause us to bridge the divide.
by Jon Gorter | Jan 28, 2020 | 2 comments
Out of the corner of my eye, a grey bolt of lightning shot out from behind the gothic-style church on the corner across from North Quad.
by Jon Gorter | Dec 28, 2019 | 2 comments
I learned that a tree marked with a robe was not just a special tree chosen by a monk—these trees were monks.
by Jon Gorter | Nov 28, 2019 | 1 comment
Walking, he suggests, is fundamental to who we are.
by Jon Gorter | Oct 28, 2019 | 1 comment
The first thing you should know about cranes is that they don’t like to be ignored.
by Jon Gorter | Sep 28, 2019 | 1 comment
Maybe restoration doesn’t have to be all or nothing, maybe it doesn’t have to be so black-and-white.
by Jon Gorter | Aug 28, 2019 | 0 comments
Over the past four months I’ve had the privilege of cultivating some of the world’s finest beans.
by Jon Gorter | Aug 29, 2017 | 0 comments
I can still remember the first time I lied to my parents. I was seven years old and was obsessed with Indiana Jones.