I walk the land and try to pay attention. I follow old paths and new. Human paths, animal paths, and paths bound to no biological histories at all. I share these experiences in writing, visual art, and other mediums. In my writing and music I consider other-than-human viewpoints. I look for various methods of asserting that land is not merely soil, but rather a symbiosis of interdependent parts resulting in the gestalt we call the ecosystem. I also write backpacking-related essays including gear reviews.
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Despite (or maybe because of) the simple discomfort, I often feel closest to what it means to be a human animal when I’m backpacking, and I’m going to guess many readers feel the same way.
The Long Haul 50 is in the ~2lb framed pack category. Packs in this category should be able to carry up to 40lbs comfortable and 50lbs occasionally while still being comfortable. The Long Haul does this successfully.
Leopold is arguing that the first four grades with their inherent dissociation from the land, and the relative nonexistence of the fifth among recreationists, pose a huge threat to the lands on which we recreate.
At The Dark Mountain Project