Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

  A week or two ago I posted a news story I had seen on a local news station in the Twin Cities. It was, again, some of the worst journalism I had ever seen. The reporters, who do not understand biking willy-nilly asked unprepared bikers why they had not stopped at a stop sign or light. Today the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote this article that is finally a breeze of clean thinking. Two DFLers...

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The conclusion of this series culminates here with [one of] the best you-are-there authors fit for being on the trail. These posts were not meant to be in any particular order, but I was always told to leave the best for last. Edward Abbey's pure passion for the outdoors and America's wildest places make one feel as if he is walking the same trail, observing the same canyons, and listening to the same stream as...

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Two posts left in this series of blogs and it is never too late to mention the best natural analyst of our time. Annie Dillard is a gem of an author who blends every visual piece of the natural world with introspection and man's being. Painstakingly descriptive, Dillard will analyze the makeup of the soil under your shoe if you happen to be walking in front of her. The life and death of the smallest...

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Okay, as most people now know, slacklining is walking a piece of webbing that is "tied" between two trees in order to strengthen the inner core and practice balance, especially for climbers. Since its origins and purpose, it's become somewhat of a crunchy way to show off to campsite neighbors, girls at the beach, or passersby of a front yard. Here's a video on a simple, one-person technique. It is also possible to set up...

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While nature novels and memoirs seem to entrap us during a backcountry trip nearly as much as the landscape itself, I tend to also include a small book of poetry with me. If only to break up my longer book so not to finish it my first night or two out, I feel they are usually small enough and offer a different pace at which to observe the surroundings. My pick for nature poet is...

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I am a little mixed on this issue as one who bikes to commute and ride, and who also drives a car when I have to. One of our news station did a report on this and I was appalled at the lack of outcry from the biking community and the support from the driving community See it here! I will maybe add more comments later, but to me this was the worst journalism I've...

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    A a guide, I've personally been keeping an eye on these reports this year, and it's shaping up to be one of those years that you should be too. If you've ever been whitewater rafting and thought, "It's just not what I thought it would be," or "It was cracked up to be more than it was," go to Colorado this summer in the month of June if you can. This is a...

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  Every time I scan my bookshelf I am tempted to at least pick up any of Wallace Stegner's books if not read through them again. A concrete writer and an avid historian, Stegner describes America's frontiers as they have grown and our responsibilities to them. Stegner will not necessarily appeal to the romanticist in you, but will inspire you to go do something with the gifts you've been given (within and beyond) as he...

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School is nearly out for some and that means putting down dry textbooks and finally reading for pleasure again. While I am no longer a student I do work seasonally and look forward to prose friendly trails and quiet nights in the valley. I thought it would be a good time to highlight a few...maybe 5 top nature writers I've come across and hope that you would add your own to the list. Sure, we're...

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Biker looks to shock value for better biking. He looks pretty alone in his efforts, however. I wonder why he doesn't just organize a critical mass. It seems to have more support than this tactic.    

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