Bonnie Henry: Boyhood in Sabino Canyon led to a happy life as outdoorsman

"We'd spend all day there, swim in the pools, hike to Seven Falls. We would hardly see anyone," says Jonathan Hanson.

We are talking back in the 1960s, before the trams, before the parking fees, before the rooftops began crawling almost up to the mouth of the canyon.

Back when it was still possible to be a barefoot boy with cheek, reveling in the great outdoors.

The thing is, Hanson, 55, never grew out of it.

After high school, he did rock climbing for fun, drove a delivery truck for J.C. Penney for a living. It lasted five years.

"I got fired when I was caught rappelling off the warehouse on 36th Street on a dare," says Hanson. "I took a rope and hung it around a drainpipe. I was halfway down when the boss walked out."

But you know what they say about another door opening. It happened to Hanson after he enrolled at the University of Arizona, studying ecology and evolutionary biology while doing odd jobs and home repairs on the side.

In 1984, he married Roseann Beggy, who studied journalism, ecology and evolutionary biology at the UA.

Today, the two of them - both native Tucsonans - live "off the grid" near Three Points, southwest of Tucson.

Energy comes from the sun and the wind. Communication comes through cell phones. And shelter comes from the small home they're building from recycled and sustainable materials. "Our nearest neighbor is a half-mile away," says Hanson.

Before moving here seven years ago, he and Roseann worked as resident naturalists and caretakers for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Brown Canyon in the Baboquivari Mountains, managed a guest ranch in the Chiricahuas, taught nature and writing workshops, and led safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.

It was in the late 1980s when Hanson first explored the Sea of Cortez and Seri country, which led to freelance stories with Sea Kayaker magazine. That, in turn, led to freelancing for Outside magazine, on assignments that took him to South Africa, Zambia and Namibia.

Hanson also explored the upper side of the planet. In 1993, he and Roseann put their kayaks in the Mackenzie River in Canada's Northwest Territories and paddled for 125 miles. "It was 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle," he says.

The trip took a month, with each of the kayaks carrying 200 pounds of food.

More freelancing followed, researching and writing up articles for everyone from National Geographic Adventure to Backpacker to Sunset magazine.

In 2005, Hanson hooked up with Scott Brady, in Prescott. "We both loved the outdoors. We both were four-wheel-drive enthusiasts," says Hanson.

Out of that would come Overland Journal, with Hanson serving as executive editor, Brady as publisher.

"He does the business end; I do a lot of the writing," says Hanson. Roseann serves as conservation editor.

Published five times a year, the magazine has 4,000 subscribers from all over the world, says Hanson. "It's doing well."

As for the future, Hanson says he and Roseann hope to start a nonprofit group to raise money for some of the rangers they've met during their myriad trips.

"It's the rangers who do the conservation work in Africa and the game preserves in Mexico," says Hanson. "They lack uniforms, weapons, vehicles."

Far from Sabino Canyon, he's still reveling in the great outdoors.

Bonnie Henry's column appears Sundays and Mondays. Reach her at 573-4179 or at bhenry@azstarnet.com or write to 4850 S. Park Ave. Tucson, AZ 85714.