Tag: desert

A weekend in Bears Ears

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You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in the Western US today who hasn’t heard of Bears Ears. It’s become a rallying cry for conservation and recreation and generally not letting public lands disappear. (If you need a refresher on Bears Ears’ contemporary history, here’s a good primer from a Native perspective.)

I’d driven through parts of the Monument, but never spent any significant time there. So when we started making plans to spend a holiday weekend in the desert with friends, I jumped at Bix’s suggestion to make for Cedar Mesa.

Continue reading “A weekend in Bears Ears” →

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Why I don’t mind being lost in the crowd

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You’ve seen Delicate Arch. It’s plastered on every billboard between Grand Junction and Moab. It’s on the Utah state license plate. It’s safe to say this 65-foot formation of Entrada sandstone, the product of millions of seasons’ worth of wind and water, is among the most iconic views in all of Utah, maybe the American West. Continue reading “Why I don’t mind being lost in the crowd” →

The reluctant enthusiast, the part-time crusader, the half-hearted fanatic

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Like many of my peers, I’ve spent most of November feeling disheartened and maybe a little panicked. I’ve been trying to make time for self-care in order to stay (relatively) sane, but each time I lace up my running shoes or pack a backpack, I feel a little guilty, like my time would be better spent on activism than on the entirely self-serving pursuit of personal fitness.  Continue reading “The reluctant enthusiast, the part-time crusader, the half-hearted fanatic” →

Red Hot lovin’

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Around this time last year, I started a new job. In an office. I’d spent most of the previous five years working mostly outside: as a backpacking instructor, conducting field research in grad school, a brief stint as a whitewater raft guide. The closest thing I’d had to an office job still allowed me to ski, on the clock, a few times a month. This was a big shift. Continue reading “Red Hot lovin’” →

Ladies’ night out

Spoiler alert: we don’t just talk about ill-fitting gear and the challenges of peeing outside. There are plenty of gross jokes. Our conversations would definitely pass the Bechdel test.

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This year, I got a head start on the answer to my perennial springtime question: How am I going to take advantage of the extra day off for Memorial Day weekend? I started considering my options in the midst of ski season. Continue reading “Ladies’ night out” →