Landscapes, Luck, and an Inquisitive Adventurer

The author describes the somewhat unlikely and circuitous route taken to a career in academic geography. Fueled by a love of adventure and wild landscapes, guided and inspired by generous mentors, and through simple good luck, he progresses from an indifferent high school student, through undergraduate and graduate degrees in Geography and Botany in the United States and Canada. Work for the Geological Survey of Canada takes him into the wilds he had long dreamt of exploring and introduces him to the large-scale field methods and big science approaches that he would embrace in his subsequent career. Advice from a geologist friend at the University of Toronto leads to a position in the Department of Geography at McMaster University, and a career-long appreciation of, and dedication to, the discipline of Geography.