From my journal: “As I sit to write this, a grizzly bear has taken up residence as our neighbor, separated only by a shallow braided river and 300 yards of foot, or paw, distance. Govi, somewhat unconcerned after regularly seeing … Read More
It was late morning before the clouds lifted, and Eric bellowed from behind his desk, “Well, Tyler, you wanna go?” We looked over our landing options once more, quickly, and loaded into a Cessna 206. He swerved and banked as … Read More
The low throttle and dropped flaps of the 737 told me it was landing time, but looking out the window I couldn’t see anything but white cloud. Land suddenly burst into view at three-hundred-feet. I saw airplanes anchored along an … Read More
We planned on twelve days, and gave ourselves fourteen, so when we finished in ten and a half with only one day of lunch food left, we were plenty pleased to be ahead of schedule. After waiting on the weather … Read More
We are less than two weeks from flying into the Arctic wilderness, and there has been just one day of summer thaw. As I write this, I can only hope the Kukpowruk and Ipewik Rivers are breaking up, coming to … Read More
Loaded as my truck was with boxes of the new book, Big Tree Hikes of the Redwood Coast, I was slightly hesitant to commit to 40 miles of unknown dirt road. Interstate 15, however, was stop and go traffic snaking … Read More
On a map, Point Hope pokes into the blue of the Chukchi Sea like a bird’s beak, projecting westward from Alaska’s barren northwest coast. It is the final spit of land sitting at the end of the last range of … Read More
The rural two-lane curved and climbed through rolling slopes of green and then entered a copse of forest—oak and pine—before emerging suddenly on the rim of an escarpment. Below lay paradise. The valley was flat and perfectly green, with big … Read More
I first met Jim McComb standing ankle-deep in mud. It was February 20th, 1993, a record high water day for Arizona rivers, and McComb, trailed by three others, was marching through the slop to get a look at the high … Read More
We were prepared, in theory at least, for a six-mile walk to the put-in, dragging our 80-pound gear laden kayaks every step of the way. Thank goodness not all plans come to fruition. When it came time to turn off … Read More