What Happens When You Leave Cell Service Behind
byHere’s a thing you may have experienced: You’re about to head out on a trip in the outdoors, for three days or longer. You’re…
ESSAYS
Summit Day
byA couple hundred feet from the top of Avalanche Gulch on Mount Shasta last Monday morning, my friend Abi and I had a check-in….
The Gas Tank Is 1/4 Full, Or 3/4 Empty
byJust east of Green River, Utah, on Interstate 70, I looked over from the passenger seat to see the car’s gas gauge hovering around…
Climbing Out Of A Huge Metaphor
byTen years ago last weekend, my old friend Jarrett didn’t have cancer anymore, so I thought it would be a good idea to take…
Should You Keep Your Big Goals To Yourself?
byA couple years ago, I was talking to my dad on the phone and asked about his plans for the next weekend. He said…
The Joy Of Wearing Out A Piece Of Gear
byA lot of things felt like they were on the verge of breaking down in the six months of training for my first 100-mile…
Complaining Is Useless
byOne Sunday last August, maybe halfway through a 22-mile trail run in 85 degrees and full sun, the day after we’d run 24 trail…
None Of This Makes Any Sense And That’s Just Fine
byLast Saturday night, I was running one of my favorite trails in the dark. I had gotten a late start, realized I failed to…
The Great Dirtbag Pissing Contest
byA few weeks ago, someone put a sticker saying “Does this Sprinter van make my trust fund look big?” on my friend Thomas’s van…
Make 2018 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm
byNote: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make 2012 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm.” Every year around…
The Shortcut Is: There Is No Shortcut
byHere’s something that didn’t happen: Tommy Caldwell, in the days following the first ascent of the Dawn Wall, being interviewed by a journalist about…
Is This What I Have To Do To Get Away From My Phone? I Guess So.
byI sit on a rock along the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park, assembling a camp stove and filling a pot with water…
Birthdays (And Other Days) Should Be More Like Funerals
byI went to a memorial for the son of some friends this past weekend. He was a climber and a skier, and died in…
12 Ways To Help The World Feel Less Hopeless
byDon’t argue with people on the internet. Use your car horn to communicate with other drivers for emergencies, not to communicate your frustration with…
I Gave Up Coffee For Three Months And This Is What I Learned
byIf you talk to people about drinking coffee, they will often say things like “I just love the ritual of making coffee,” or “I…
The Case For Giving A Shit
byHilary and I drove four hours to stand on a gravel road north of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for two minutes of magic on Monday. A…
Flake On Me Once … Actually, Just Don’t Flake.
byA couple weeks ago, a friend shared an opinion piece by David Brooks titled The Golden Age of Bailing. The first comment was someone…
Dear New Guy At The Climbing Gym:
byDear New Guy At The Climbing Gym, or lady running around the track at the park for the first time, or person trying out…
I Believe In Inertia
byIt happened again yesterday, like it always does, about three-quarters of the way through my run: I started to try to talk myself out…
Use Microaffection To Help Make The World Suck Less
byI tried counting all the ways someone could contact me the other day, and I stopped at 22 different methods. That includes e-mail, Twitter,…
Find A Way Around—Or Through
byA few years ago I was at a coffee shop and I started chatting with the guy next to me about what I do…
Happiness Is Your Backyard Trail
byI plodded my way up the Hayden Trail, headed up toward my fifth “summit” of the day as the sun coasted downward. I had…
I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind
by“A lot of the young doctors I hire work for me for a year or so and then they want to get out and…
Wind, You Jerk
byMy friend Jayson and I were out trail running on Saturday, for long stretches exposed to a 50 mph wind. It was the kind…
The Currency Of Friendship
byAt 5:55 a.m. Denver is dark and fairly quiet as Syd and I have an excited conversation about new movies we’ve seen as we…
The Coffee Drinker’s Guide To Being Present
byAbout five years ago, my friend Tommy told me what I thought was an insignificant thing: that he’d taken a ceramic mug to his…
Make 2017 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm
byNote: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make 2012 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm.” Every year around…