Nine-Eleven: Remembering Terrorism at Home and Abroad
Today is nine-eleven. Week-long tributes will air on national television as well as, according to my mom who lives in Australia, there, too. It’s not only a day to remember, but an entire week. What is it exactly that we’re rallied to remember? What emotions are dredged up once again, like dusty Christmas ornaments that … Read more
The Columbian Exchange and Protecting Our Ecological Heirlooms
In Charles C. Mann’s latest eco-historical book “1493″, he recounts how Christopher Columbus re-assembled pangea’s flora and fauna identity. Pangea was the connected conglomeration of the earth’s continents before they split. He did this through, what we can now deem, ecological globalization: The spreading and re-distributing of flora and fauna back to continents where they had … Read more
A Road Less Travelled: The Flat Tops Wilderness (Wagonwheel Trail-Days 6-7)
Everything in the world is beautiful, but Man only recognizes beauty if he sees it seldom or from afar.-Vladmir Nobokov from “Gods” We left the Holy Cross area by mid-morning. Car after car cut through the cakey dust, sending helical plumes into the still air over Homestake Creek and onto it’s riparian shoulders. We left … Read more
Cost-Counting and the Delusion of Free Car-Camping (Night 5)
“If we make that shift toward a life simple in means but rich in goals, we are not threatened by plans for saving the planet.” -Arne Naess After leaving the South San Juan Wilderness, my wife and I went north to backpack in a less monsoonal climate. When we arrived at Minturn, hoping to camp … Read more
Cowshit, Hail, and Grizzly Ghosts: Elk Creek of the South San Juan Wilderness (Days 1-4)
When the rare opportunity to have six days for wilderness exploration presents itself, the hurried shot-gun trips to nearby areas are put aside, and we set our sights on further, harder-to-get-to areas. This time we chose the South San Juan Wilderness. Planning a backpack trip that satisfies both my wife’s needs and my demands is … Read more
Enviro Art: Mari Hardel and the simplicity of observation
On our team of seven, there is a mixed bag of personalities and talents. One such talent is Mari Hardel. I have had the pleasure of watching her, with notebook in hand, sketch pinecones, flowers, loons, flora, and other scenes that surround us. She’s so damn good that I am creating a link to her blog for … Read more
First Moments in Minnesota: Water, Trees, Birds
After a long drive through the undulating and barren Dakotas, I arrived in Minnesota. Verdant plains, stubbled with ash, cottonwood, and maple, gave way to rolling hills that were blanketed with white and red pine, balsam firs, red cedars and juniper, and a myriad of deciduous trees…and lakes. Coming from the xeric Front Range of … Read more
Monoculture
http://blog.sustainablog.org/monoculture-agriculture/ Overview: Monocultures have been around for thousands of years, and in fact they were prohibited in Hebrew Scriptures. Polycultures were done to improve resilience in the agriculture system, and crop rotations were performed to ease the stress on the soil and added nutrients to the soil. With the advent of industrial agriculture new methods … Read more
Oh my-cology! How shrooms will save the planet
A Jerry Garcia look-a-like proposes a solution to save the planet by using fungi, specifically Mycelium. He surveys the history of the fungi and speaks to its ability to both precede all other forms of life on earth and outlive all other species after a catastrophe (asteroid, volcano, oil spill, all other causes of mass … Read more
Quandary Peak: The Quandary of Stewardship, Recreation, and First Ascents
One of my greatest fears when Fall semester begins is the inexorable aggregation of fat around my midsection and the phlegmy hacking that comes from unused lungs. Much of this is due to the lack of an active community who pushes the members to physical limits all year round. Thankfully, I met a peer who … Read more
Filed under Photography, Prose, Review & Commentary · Tagged with backpacking, Climb, essay, political, Prose, review, travel, Wilderness Areas