You know what this ritual feels like: You loosen every buckle on your ski boots, pull your sock up, and…
Category essays
I trudge forward, the muddy road tugging at my running shoes, splattering my ankles and shins, as I finish the…
One afternoon last August, a delivery truck rolled up outside my house in Denver. Two men got out, dollied a…
Here’s a crazy story: I spent four and a half hours outdoors alone the other day and didn’t listen to…
Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make 2012 The Year Of Maximum…
If you’re anything like most of us, another year ending means a lot of things: anxiety, hectic planning and travel,…
I didn’t know why it happened. I was doing OK until the guy with the dog came through, and then,…
I tried. For a while, it seemed like everyone was talking about how meditation changed their lives—friends, acquaintances, podcast interviewees…
Here’s one thing we always say about weddings: “It’s the biggest day of your life.” Here’s one thing we almost…
Last Wednesday, around the ninth switchback in the M Trail at the University of Montana, my legs and lungs screamed…
Probably every other time my friend Lee and I came to the end of an approach hike at the base…
Here’s a thing you may have experienced: You’re about to head out on a trip in the outdoors, for three…
A couple hundred feet from the top of Avalanche Gulch on Mount Shasta last Monday morning, my friend Abi and…
Just east of Green River, Utah, on Interstate 70, I looked over from the passenger seat to see the car’s…
Ten years ago last weekend, my old friend Jarrett didn’t have cancer anymore, so I thought it would be a…
A couple years ago, I was talking to my dad on the phone and asked about his plans for the…
A lot of things felt like they were on the verge of breaking down in the six months of training…
One Sunday last August, maybe halfway through a 22-mile trail run in 85 degrees and full sun, the day after…
Last Saturday night, I was running one of my favorite trails in the dark. I had gotten a late start,…
A few weeks ago, someone put a sticker saying “Does this Sprinter van make my trust fund look big?” on…