EDITOR’S NOTE: — At the end of his talk, Mick Dodge sang a song he wrote about getting in touch with the Earth. PDN advertising rep Sara Schaefer took this cellphone video: https://youtu.be/ttHnLKL7Mbw
SEQUIM — For intrepid mountain man Mick Dodge — star of the National Geographic Channel show “The Legend of Mick Dodge” — avoiding public spaces and crowded locales is a way of life.
But Dodge made an exception Tuesday afternoon for a good cause.
He appeared at the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon, held at SunLand Golf & Country Club, to speak of the “Land of OM,” aka the Olympic Mountains.
“It has been hard for me to come in to crowds,” the spry 63-year-old with tree roots tattooed on his bare feet told a packed audience.
“I was born a Dodge — and I’ve learned to dodge crowds.”
Dodge humorously noted that he has “pulled a two-wheeled cart through Sequim I don’t know how many times in my life, and I have never been invited to the Chamber of Commerce,” causing a round of raucous laughter.
It was his love for the Olympic Peninsula and his desire to share that ardor with others that drove him to overcome his innate aversion to urban spaces, he said.
“I think we all share a common passion, and that is this mystical mystery land that we all live in,” Dodge said.
It was this same message that led him to television fame about two years ago, when his show started.
“This is an opportunity to show off this mountain and the people [of the Olympic Peninsula],” he said.
“I wake up every morning, and I think about three things: land, clan and make a stand.
“My goal was to let the Earth — this mountain — channel into that television,” he added.
“I have been out running a vision and a calling from this mountain. And all of you know, all of you feel it.”
For Dodge, reconnecting with nature — and sharing that mantra with the world — began one step at a time.
A few decades ago, “I began walking in this Earth, touching it as deeply as I can with my bare feet,” he said.
“When you begin to land your feet into the earth, we begin to go back into our primal body, remembering who we are as a species of this Earth.”
Dodge encourages others to “get back in touch with your feet again” no matter where they live, but especially on the Olympic Peninsula.
“I think one of the first things that happens when you step out of your shoes is you begin to pay attention,” he said.
“The second thing that begins to happen is you learn to accept that you have become ‘defeeted.’ You have lost touch with your feet.”
Going barefoot will teach “attention, acceptance and awareness” he added.
As the luncheon was hosted by Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County, which works to provide homes for those who cannot afford adequate accommodations, one young audience member appropriately asked where Dodge lives when he is not filming the show.
“It is really interesting to me to define where I live,” he replied.
“I have spent my life as a Dodge, and I know how to sleep in stumps. I know how to sleep in tree houses.
“I am not a ‘hobbit,’ but I am a ‘habit.’
“And so, I have trained my body . . . how to sleep in different places. How to sleep under bridges, how to sleep up in trees. I have made my home the Earth, and that was my goal. So I have many homes.
“I think a lot of people would like to say I am homeless. The only problem with that is I have never been homeless. I think homeless means ‘spiritless.’ ”
Dodge added he is pleased that Habitat for Humanity brings hope to those with the greatest need.
Habitat Executive Director Cyndi J. Hueth said the nonprofit organization was “honored” to sponsor the chamber luncheon.
“It is a perfect partnership here with Mick” and the “simple, decent and affordable living he does out there in the Hoh Rain Forest,” she joked, adding that there have been great strides made to house the needy.
“Some exciting things just happened for us,” she added.
“We just dedicated our 24th home in the city of Forks and our 25th home in Port Angeles,” both of which were given to underprivileged families.
“And in about a month’s time, we are going to be breaking ground on two more homes, so we have plenty of work to do. We have a home going up in Forks [and in Port Angeles]. . . .
“Watch for that and come out to help build. You don’t have to be skilled, but if you are, that does help us along the way.”
For more information about Habitat, go to www.habitatclallam.org or call (360-681-6780.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
