ACKNOWLEDGMENTSFirst, I would like to thank Faith Conlon of Seal Press who en-couraged me on this venture, and then went off to have her ownadventure of child rearing, and Holly Morris, who adopted meand made me feel completely at home with Seal. Holly is reallythe second editor on this book as she read and reread all of thesepieces, helped make difficult decisions as to what to include andnot, and, above all, remained cheerful through it all. This anthology was years in the making and many peoplehelped to give it form, but I would especially like to thank thefollowing people: John Fout and Mich~le Dominy at the journalat Bard College for time and space to work on this (and a Xeroxmachine); John Councill for his computer wizardry; Moose Catand Honey Bear for their inimitable company; and Tamela Sloanfor her work and love throughout the process. This anthology could never have happened without all of thesubmissions from women who love the outdoors. Thanks toeveryone who hework with me. Aincluded in this coped spread the word and who shared theirnd thank you especially to the women I havelection for offering your words and vision, for