Robin Patten ~
Writer, Teacher, Naturalist

Robin Patten ~ Writer, Teacher, NaturalistRobin Patten ~ Writer, Teacher, NaturalistRobin Patten ~ Writer, Teacher, Naturalist

Robin Patten ~
Writer, Teacher, Naturalist

Robin Patten ~ Writer, Teacher, NaturalistRobin Patten ~ Writer, Teacher, NaturalistRobin Patten ~ Writer, Teacher, Naturalist
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The Mountain: Journeys in High Places

The Mountain is not one place, nor one thing. The Mountain is a shape shifter, and to see it from its different angles is to view life in different perspectives. 


“This book combines beautiful nature writing with scientific observations to overcome the dichotomy between feelings and rational thought, to encourage a more comprehensive and deeply felt experience of the natural world.”—Edwin Bernbaum, author of Sacred Mountains of the World



Chapter 1. Montana: Beginnings

Chapter 3. The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

Chapter 2. New Zealand: The Sacred Mountain

The story begins with my life in Montana and the foundations of my own relationship to mountains. 

Photos

Chapter 2. New Zealand: The Sacred Mountain

Chapter 3. The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

Chapter 2. New Zealand: The Sacred Mountain

My trek around the volcano Ngauruhoe provides the setting for this exploration of the Sacred Mountain. 


Photos

Chapter 3. The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

Chapter 3. The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

Chapter 3. The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

I returned to the Tetons almost forty years after completing the research for Masters in this massif. The trip had me musing about the connections between science and mountains.

Photos

Chapter 4. Yosemite: The Romantic Mountain

Chapters 5 and 6. Scotland: The Solo Mountain and The Peopled Mountain

Chapter 3. The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

Following in the footsteps of John Muir, I trekked into Yosemite, considering the role of mountains in the Romantic philosophy. 

Photos

Chapters 5 and 6. Scotland: The Solo Mountain and The Peopled Mountain

Chapters 5 and 6. Scotland: The Solo Mountain and The Peopled Mountain

Chapters 5 and 6. Scotland: The Solo Mountain and The Peopled Mountain

Scotland's Cairngorm mountains are the setting and nature writer Nan Shepherd is the muse for the chapter "The Solo Mountain." 

The Scottish Highland region of Assynt was a place I wanted to call home. It is central to the other Scotland-based chapter "The Peopled Mountain," an exploration of mountains as home.

Photos

Chapter 7. Norway: The Whole Mountain

Chapters 5 and 6. Scotland: The Solo Mountain and The Peopled Mountain

Chapters 5 and 6. Scotland: The Solo Mountain and The Peopled Mountain

Many ways of knowing the Mountain merged during this sojourn within the challenging arctic-alpine environment of Norway. There I camped below Hallingskarvet Mountain, the mountain that influenced deep ecologist Arne Naess. Both place and man were at the heart of my journey. 

Photos

Montana:Beginnings

My connection and appreciation for the natural world -- mountain landscapes in particular -- began at the family ranch in Montana. 

1/10

New Zealand: The Sacred Mountain

The sacred mountain Ngauruhoe within Tongariro National Park. 

01/14

The Tetons: The Scientific Mountain

I walked into the Tetons at the height of the pandemic. Masks were common on the crowded beginning of the trail. 

01/18

Yosemite: The Romantic Mountain

Looking into Ten Lakes Basin from Ten Lakes Pass.

01/18

Scotland : The Solo Mountain

The sweep of the Cairngorm Mountains-- like being on a high plateau. 

01/21

Scotland: The Peopled Mountain

Looking down on Inchnadamph in Assynt, Scotland. 

01/18

Norway: The Whole Mountain

Hallingskarvet Mountain. 

01/24

Copyright © 2025 Robin Patten Freelance Writer, Teacher, Naturalist - All Rights Reserved.

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