Endlessly impressive. The valley floor is about 800 feet below. I’ll be looking forward to seeing even more canyons in the coming months, namely from Utah and Nevada.

About a year ago, I wrote about the “Most Likely Environmentalists”, and responded in the reactionary way that I do: “People who are invested in the world are inherently environmentalists, for they have much to do to secure their investment. Likewise, can one really respect the efforts of those “deeply committed to the environment” yet...

“Globally, per-capita income rises with national energy use, meaning that cheap energy is critical to reducing poverty. “It’s hard to be productive if you don’t have lights to read by,” Bill Gates writes in How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.” Connecting rising incomes with the reduction of poverty means that one has successfully impoveri...

“Now, Marfa is home to a wave of minimalist, environmentally sound homes. And with floor-to-ceiling windows on opposite sides of the home, it’s perfect for watching the rare thunderstorm roll across the open horizon, or catch the even more rare Marfa Lights as they endeavor to keep a little mystery in this world. (Adventure Journal, “M...

In the documentary Public Trust, outdoor journalist Hal Herring detailed growing pressures within the federal government to lease and sell off public lands for resource extraction and exploitation. After referencing corporate funding for legislation that would push these sales, Herring admits, “How public lands got mixed up in all this...

Former Bureau of Land Management bureaucrat Richard Spotts seeks to “reform” the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a United States agency that administers and prepares land resources for exploitation by mining, oil extraction and grazing. Confusingly, Spotts’ description of the agency’s obstacles toward a conservationist and protectioni...

“With a drum roll of rushed procedures, the Bureau of Land Management opened the bids to, at long last, explore and develop within the Arctic Refuge. Ta-da! No major or mid-size oil company showed up at all. Instead, the bid total was $14 million, most of which came from a state agency that has no track record in oil development. For c...

What requires music, short-form storytelling, street performance, videography, factories, supply chain systems, studios, designers, executives, scientists, bureaucrats, foundries, sketches, and even some plain old magic tricks? It is the consumer product of course. When you purchase an iPhone or a Cuisinart blender, you didn't just buy...

After being told that backcountry skiing activities were endangering the local bighorn sheep: “Well, the sheep have had these mountains for 10,000 years. Now it’s our turn.” This is not the prevalent mode of thinking for outdoor recreationists (at least it is not the conscious thinking of those people), but it does lend to the spirit o...

I recently read about one major factor of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's pre-requisites for an expedition leader in the far north: "must have good circulation". I don't know if my physiology would fit the bill; within 20 minutes hiking in -15 to -30 degree weather, my toes and fingers would start to freeze under layers of socks and gloves and...

I grew up north of Seattle for a bit, and always thought about the city for three reasons: Pike Place Market, Trader Joe’s, and REI Co-op. The flagship REI had a rock-climbing wall, mountain bike path for testing, even a tiny restaurant on the first or second floor. REI turned the outdoors experience into a Rainforest Cafe-style fantas...

Invisible Hand feels like it was made for people that already knew about the modern "rights of nature" movement—some of the dramatic challenges and creative flourishes in the documentary appears to lend itself to already opened ears. However, introducing the story with a "white devil" indigenous story gives a strong hint that the doc i...

I have until the beginning of April in Salcha, Alaska. For posterity, I will write what I've done so far since I got here in December: - Cleared out a 3-mile sled dog trail that goes along the Tanana River, right off the Old Valdez Trail. - Currently working on a 5-mile section that I will hopefully complete by the time I leave. - Work...