Does summiting a peak or paddling a first descent have value if it hasn’t changed us in the process? The adventure films we watch are packed with feats of bravery and uncertainty—would they be so compelling if the heroes didn’t … Read More
Have you noticed how a faraway glance at a landscape never reveals the actual biodiversity within that ecosystem? The same goes for the incredibly diverse group of humans that populate the species Homo dirtbaggus. From afar, we might look all … Read More
I didn’t realize how serious it was until I tried to snap a photo of him riding around a corner with a scenic green ridge rising in the background. Usually the first one to ham for the camera, he didn’t … Read More
“Why do women just love to judge each other?” I wanted to ask. My friend, a high-achieving urban planner, whizzed around her kitchen in a stylish dress, putting the final touches on an immaculate dinner. I’d just asked her opinion … Read More
My mom recently told me the story of a woman remembering the moment Nazi soldiers came to take her father from their family home to a concentration camp. She recalled him slowly rising from the dinner table. He methodically gathered … Read More
Sweat dripped down my neck and trickled down the small of my back with the physical effort in the evening sun, but a distinct lightness buoyed my spirit—it was a sense of satisfaction I hadn’t felt in a while. Tugging … Read More
If you’ve ever gone mountain biking, you’ve probably had that “Doh!” moment of being halfway over an obstacle, losing the momentum you need to clear it, and then falling in what feels like a slow-motion collapse. Even if you’ve only … Read More
There was way too much cotton in the photo. Cotton t-shirts, cotton pants, cotton bandanas, even a cotton puffy vest. And the external-frame pack on my back was straight out of 1977. We stood smiling in bulky college sweatshirts for … Read More
If you weren’t one of the 50,000 people who read the article “The Confidence Gap” in The Atlantic this past month, here’s what it said: Compared to men, women generally underestimate their abilities, and this holds them back. The examples … Read More
My friend’s smile lit up as she pulled up the photo on her phone and held it across the table for me to see, like someone showing off a photo of her child. Except her photo was of a van. … Read More
