Mind Yer Spring Step

Editor’s Note: Colorado Parks and Wildlife sent out this notice and we’re passing it along as a general Hippocratic Oath for outdoorists everywhere. Be a good steward to wildlands and wildlife. And don’t be an ass to other folks. If you’re riding horses or encountering […]

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: […]

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 […]

Come Mayhem, How Will We Fare?

I’m a reasonable person. Like a lot of people, I’m politically centric and middle class. I have no outstanding warrants and next to no savings. I roll through stop signs and I volunteer. I’m imperfect and reasonably happy. Like lots of folks, too, I get […]

Apple to Bird to Tree to Cider: Fenceline Story

Sam Perry, co-owner of Fenceline Cider, in Mancos, was a studio art major in college. So, it makes sense that he’d reference a color palette when describing the narrowness of cider flavors ‘round here. Despite the wealth of apple varieties, “we’ve been painting with brown,” […]

Rattlesnake Avoidance Pays Off

Here in Colorado, one niggling impediment to carefree hiking and riding is the prospect of rattlesnake encounters. The possibility of harm and crisis – for horses, humans, and dogs – is enough to motivate several preventative strategies. There’s not a lot we can do for […]

Remember when ‘unplugged’ wasn’t a thing?

Now I see the secret of making the best persons: It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth. Walt Whitman Summertime is my favorite time ‘to grow in the open air.’ Mostly I’ve been camping with my […]

Diversity Reconsidered

This opinion piece appeared recently in High Country News. Here is the unedited version: Diversity is such a funny word. Most folks think of it in terms of skin color or ethnicity. I picked my college because of this so-called diversity. For a white girl […]

Alpine Houdini Review

“Weather permitting…” Real trekkers hardly acknowledge a phrase like this one. It rains. We’re either prepared and comfortable or unprepared and grin through it. I prefer the former. During the lovely monsoon season here in Colorado, it might rain every day for a few months. […]

Species Parade, Episode 15

During the summer, cows move into the community. For a few months, their mooing and bellowing is about all you can hear unless you adjust your ears. The birds and mammals are still here, but they seem to step back, literally and figuratively. The dogs, […]