Climbers Need Hokas

Editor’s Note: Dillon Robertson is an avid climber, runner, and outdoorsman. He’s former Peace Corps volunteer who spent years in a remote village in Panama with his wife, Kelley. They live in Grand Junction, Colorado. Dillon reviewed the Hoka Torrent 2 Trail Racer. Dillon writes: […]

Wolves and Coexistence

A note from Maddy: It’s always interesting to work with editors and for a platform which are well outside my usual quiet vacuum of independent travails. I submitted this piece to the Washington Post and, because of my editor’s interests as well as the Endangered […]

What does it mean “To Listen”?

Editor’s Note: This post was part of the Lightswitch project at KSJD, kindly motivated by Tom Yoder and edited by Penny Holiday. Listen to it by heading here and scrolling down on the KSJD page. Transcript: I owe a career in journalism to my mother. […]

Abandoned Horses Rescued from Perilous Backcountry Fate

Editor’s Note: This article appears in the Colorado Sun. All photos by Clay Tillia. By Maddy Butcher While many were ringing in the New Year, a team of volunteers in Dolores and Montezuma counties were engaged in an eight-day effort to save six horses abandoned […]

JOMO: The Joy of Missing Out

Editor’s Note: The following essay appeared in the Washington Post. This is an expanded, unwashed-by-editors version. Read the WaPo piece here. Maddy Butcher writes: Thanks to 65 billion dollars allocated for broadband expansion in the infrastructure bill, country dwellers like me will inch closer to […]

The Wanigan and What We Carry

Editor’s Note: A version of this essay was published in the Washington Post. Maddy Butcher writes: Few friends aren’t going through something now. It might be relationship struggles or tough times at work. It is often a mental health deal. Sometimes it’s a blend of […]

2021 Outdoor Retailer

Historically, the Outdoor Retailer has been this ginormous gathering of outdoor recreationalists, store owners, marketing reps, buyers, sellers, promoters, and media folks like me who cover the “stuff” associated with getting outside. Think thousands of vendors and tens of thousands of visitors to the Colorado […]

Getting Out is Not Enough

Editor’s Note: An abridged version of this opinion piece was published in the Colorado Sun. Two dogs, now gone, showed me how to consider the outdoors. Belle appreciated the landscape as a whole. She stopped, not just at the summit, but to tend to sounds […]

Pandemic Storm

Someone sent me a playlist of dance songs this morning. By eight o’clock, with two cups of tea in me, I was dancing around the kitchen and living room, feeling relaxed and free of cares. The dogs watched. “Who is this woman?” It was different […]

Winter Is Coming Cinnamon Rolls

My cinnamon rolls probably are not very good for you. But eating well isn’t about sticks and berries at every meal. I’ll pick chef Samin Nosrat over calorie counters and vegan extremists every time. Eating and making food is about what gives you joy and […]