Jay Harrison

Who I Am, What I Do,
My Professional Aspirations

by Jay Harrison (of course)

Bio

I was born and raised in New York State's Southern Tier, in a rural farming community. My family lived in the hills above the fertile valleys, beyond the cow pastures and rooftops of the remaining dairy barns still operating at that time. Bluntly, we lived in the sticks.
Which suited me perfectly.
I had no interest in farming, nor pursuing any of the industrial careers that at that time were obviously (even to a kid) in their death throes. As far as I can recall, I loved the woods from Day One.
I spent the majority of my free time there, hiking, exploring, fishing, and in general doing nothing productive but enjoying almost every minute of it. I built huts, picked wild strawberries, collected rocks, hunted for honey bees, and climbed trees religiously.

In my twelfth year, we moved off the Hill into the bottomlands and quite suddenly, I was surrounded by fields and had both a railroad track and highway outside my bedroom. I hated it at first, being so isolated from the woods, but I soon ventured across the pastures and hay up on the hills and into the forests above to find new things. A large creek flowed not far away, with decent trout fishing and good flat areas to build shelters where I could now camp out. A gravel pit held all sorts of good rock collecting and completely new adventurous ways of getting myself killed (none of which, thankfully, succeeded).
I had to commute a bit to get my wilderness fix now, but I compensated by adding more exciting activities to the venue: in the creek flats swinging from tree to tree (yeah, Tarzan-style), jumping off gravel cliffs, floating down floodwaters in cement pans, and pounding railroad spikes into railroad trestle walls to climb them...

Eventually, I finished high school and had to go to college or get a "real job." The latter was an almost universally hopeless affair in my neck of the woods, so I chose higher education.
I attended a small college about fifteen miles north of New York City, disturbingly close to urbania, but there were plenty of woods just outside the campus grounds to explore.
I spent a lot of time in the woods, doubtless more than I should have. I couldn't ignore its attraction, and often relinquished studies to go out and wander, even if it meant doing so in the dark.
Other interests were developing also, and all these would eventually conflict with college obligations enough that I finally set academics aside for awhile...a much longer while than I originally imagined or intended. After finishing three years of study, I dropped out and began "making a living," a slue of careers which included professional photography, carpentry, cabinetmaking, glass fabrication, and being a janitor.

I met a wonderful girl and we married. Together, Robin and I saved every penny we could during our first year together, then packed ourselves into a '76 Datsun B-210 and traveled cross-country for our second year. We wound our way through a bit of Canada and ten northern states, hiking across a miniature desert in Michigan, collecting agates in South Dakota, backpacking in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, and touring dozens of National parks, monuments, and historic sites.
We wintered in Washington State, where I climbed a little, collected a lot of rocks, and tried to plan a strategy for returning to college and choosing a career.
In the spring, we meandered back to New York and settled down. As our family began growing, we moved gradually from the suburbs north of New York City; first to the Albany area, and finally to a home deep in the Adirondacks. We did this partly to provide a natural setting for the children and partly to satisfy our own need to be close to nature. While I was not working in the outdoor industry, I did not want to get far from the woods.

Raising our children in the Adirondacks gave them the opportunity to experience outdoor activities like hiking, camping, kayaking, climbing, and caving frequently.

Eventually, I combined career with my passion. I became a New York State outdoor guide, licensed to lead rock climbing excursions, hiking and camping trips, fishing, canoeing, and whitewater rafting adventures. It didn't make me rich, but it paid enough to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, and it was certainly better than dreading the alarm clock every morning.
I've been a NYS guide for over fifteen years now, and still love it.

Currently, I am a rock climbing guide for Eastern Mountain Sports, predominantly down at the Gunks, but also for the Lake Placid crew when needed. Occasionally, I still guide rafters down the Hudson River Gorge, mostly for Beaver Brook Outfitters. I substitute teach during the school year, take small carpentry jobs once in awhile, and sell photographs.

Our children have grown up now. Robin and I have begun pursuing dreams that had to wait until these other dreams had dreams of their own to chase. We're traveling again; while not quite so long as our youthful trip, we've been able to go a lot farther afield. Our trip to Norway was an incredible eye-opener: there's a world out there to explore, and much of it flies under the radar of American adventure tour operations. Discovering such places, researching and executing an adventure trip with enough knowledge to find the good stuff yet "loose" enough to enable surprizes along the way is wonderful.

Oh: I finally did finish my undergraduate studies, only a quarter-century late!