A place in the country

By KEVIN COURTNEY, Register Staff Writer

Two months ago, Erik Shearer was living in a tiny cottage a block from Mervyn’s. His nights were punctuated by street lights and police sirens.

All that changed when the Land Trust of Napa County selected him to be the caretaker of a wild canyon on Mount Veeder filled with towering redwoods, roaring waterfalls and the cries of mountain lions.

“It is a dream come true,” Shearer said. “I’ve wanted a place like this, but could never afford it. Something like this is reserved for the select few.”

Shearer, who is an art professor at Napa Valley College, spent his first night in the Archer Taylor Preserve in a sleeping bag on the floor of the caretaker’s house. It was his best night’s sleep in years, he said.

Imagine being alone with owls and hawks, coyotes and mountain lions, with not a single human within shouting distance, he said. The darkness is profound. The stars out-twinkle the lights in downtown Napa, visible from 10 miles away.

Waking up has taken on new meaning. “It can be something as simple as ... making my tea and going outside to watch the birds fly around the orchard for an hour,” he said.

How does a single dad with shared custody of a 6-year-old son get a gig like this? When he showed up for the Land Trust interview, it helped that he is an outdoor enthusiast who has walked and mountain biked the wilds of Napa County for two decades, he said.

It may even have worked to his advantage that he could confess to having trespassed at Taylor Preserve during his youth. That’s how much he appreciated its natural splendors.

And finally, he has a rough beard, suggesting he was born to be a mountain man.

Until a friend tipped him off to the caretaking job, Shearer had resigned himself to renting. Even a college professor’s salary isn’t enough to buy a home in Napa, he said.

The job comes with a three-bedroom house and roaming rights on some of Napa County’s most spectacular scenery. He pays $600 a month, which wouldn’t buy a one-bedroom apartment in town. He’s expected to put in 30 to 40 hours a month in trail maintenance, orchard upkeep and visitor oversight.

Shearer already owned one big dog. As soon as he moved onto Mount Veeder, he got another. Country living on this scale cries out for big dogs, he said. “I want a pack if I could afford them.”

Shortly after moving in, Shearer awoke to an inch of snow on the ground. When a storm swept through a few weeks later, his exit to the main road was blocked by four fallen trees. High on his to-do list: buy a bigger chain saw.

The same storm knocked out his power for five days. For someone who is a “backpacker, a kayaker, mountain biker,” this wasn’t a problem. He survived using his wood-burning stove and cooking with his camping equipment.

Shearer, 36, grew up in Angwin, the son of Gary Shearer, Pacific Union College’s now-retired librarian. As a boy he loved the wilds of the Napa Valley. “In the course of my life I’ve probably covered most of this valley on foot,” he said.

Not everyone would be happy living at Taylor Preserve, Shearer said. It’s a 30-minute drive on narrow, twisty roads to get a loaf of bread.

“This is a monk’s existence. I have always wanted to have my own cloister. I dedicate my time to my son, my artwork,” he said.

What if he were to remarry? “If any romantic engagement happened in the future, this will be a test of it. It will certainly limit the dating pool,” he said.

If a girlfriend came along, he would have to ask, “How are you with a chain saw? Can you drive a tractor?”

The Taylor Preserve is named for a UC Berkeley professor who was a world-famous folklorist. Most of his academic books were sold to a university library, but a wall of titles remains.

Just as Archer Taylor used his bucolic surroundings on Mount Veeder as a backdrop for his research, Shearer hopes to draw inspiration for his own art.

He is setting up a studio in the front of the house. “This room has ideal light for it,” he said. “I can also monitor the road while working.”

The Land Trust organizes hikes at the Taylor Preserve. Those who have been oriented to the preserve and its rules can make an appointment to hike on their own.

Reservations can be made at 254-0996 or atphiker@napalandtrust.com.

For the moment, Shearer’s art is taking a back seat to learning the pulse of the Archer Preserve. He’s planted 14 fruit trees — apples, cherry, figs — and is ready to mow the orchard as soon as the dreaded star thistle shows its head.

“It’s giving me an opportunity to pour my heart and soul and sweat into this beautiful corner of the Napa Valley,” Shearer said.

“To be honest, I’d be glad to live up here the rest of my life,” he said. “I’d be happy to have them cart me off the mountain.”

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