Last updated Nov 4, 2021 | First published on May 19, 2021 | USA
No, it wasn’t a large dog—that was a small black bear on the prowl! I saw the bear, my first in the lower 48, shortly after having crossed the longest tree-based canopy walk in North America (880 feet)1. The day before, I had been surrounded by sharks. Admittedly, the...
Last updated Jan 3, 2022 | First published on Nov 5, 2014 | USA
No one expected to step out of the Jeep into a full-on blizzard. Sideways snow blew in 45 mph wind, creating a total whiteout—my second mountainous whiteout of 2014 already. The trail itself was hidden by a foot of fresh snow. Adrenaline pushed us forward, desperately...
Last updated Aug 3, 2021 | First published on Oct 11, 2014 | USA
Even though riddled with danger, communists, monsters, and a dark confession, this entry hardly does my six weeks in Seattle a morsel of justice. But then again, I’ve got to write something about the experience. Also, it’s saddening to know that most...
Last updated Jun 24, 2021 | First published on Sep 16, 2014 | USA
The soundtrack for our breakfast was the booming of distant rock slides and avalanches. We were standing on Mount Rainier, hiking to Camp Muir atop the mighty mountain. The avalanches couldn’t be seen, but they were certainly felt. We heard the first earlier that...
Last updated Aug 26, 2021 | First published on Aug 18, 2014 | USA
American interstates have a way of changing perspective. And scrambling brains. I learned this firsthand during my recent Great American West road trip. Not all, but most American West roads are so utilitarian and straight-as-an-arrow efficient that you start...
Last updated Sep 17, 2021 | First published on Jun 7, 2013 | USA
Hunter S. Thompson went across the desert while on his infamous quest to find the American Dream. He didn’t seem to find it. And while the Mazda 6 I hired wasn’t exactly a Caddy convertible with a trunk full of drugs, I did get better gas mileage and...
