May

Mileposts–Green Light

Green Light

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/263813840?secret_token=s-5GLL1″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]

Looking west from Seattle, the skyline of Olympic National Park is defined by the notched peak of The Brothers. “I see it stuck in traffic. I see it from meeting rooms in downtown Seattle. I see it on my evening runs that I use to stay in shape for my days in the mountains. I’ve looked at that skyline and imagined the light, the wind and thought, ‘I could be standing on that peak’ — instead of dealing with ‘this’, whatever ‘this’ is,” writes Fitz Cahall.

It can be easy to wallow in the constraints, responsibilities, and duties of life. It can be so damn easy to play the grass is greener game. When Fitz takes a spring Friday to go and climb The Brothers, he gets a chance to look back in the opposite direction and realizes that it’s not about which side is greener. It can be as simple as going when you get a green light.

Music: Shine by Publish the Quest • Mountain Soul Fire by Woodrowgerber • Silver Linings by Jason Tyler Burton • Beelzebub by Black Pistol Fire • Shadows by Woodrowgerber • Our Time Is Short by Publish the Quest • Monsoon Rains by Publish the Quest

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley, Free Music Archive and Jacob Bain.

Apr

The Shorts — I Poo, A Love Story

I Poo, A Love Story

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/261408472?secret_token=s-2g1TG” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“My new husband, Bix, consulted the map and asked if I thought we’d make it to Bowknot Bend that day. Lots of honeymooners probably have similar conversations, except for one small detail,” writes Emma Walker. “Unlike those couples who coyly take their twos at the gas station down the street, my spouse of less than a week sat discussing the finer points of canoe rigging from his perch atop the river toilet.”

Today, Emma shares her take on the ingredients for an awesome relationship: honesty, openness, unconditional acceptance of ourselves and of each other–and a solid foundation of poop jokes.

You can find more of Emma’s writing at: https://myalaskanodyssey.com/

Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain and Nis Kotto • Plantation by Jason Shaw • First Fiddle by emFrik • Back to the Woods by Jason Shaw • Jesus Loves to Watch You Sleep by adcBicycle • Monsoon Rains by Publish the Quest • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley, Free Music Archive,

And our friends Jacob Bain and Amy Stolzenbach.

Apr

Trespassers

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/259098867?secret_token=s-rOJc5″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“You have to imagine that you’re on the frozen Arctic Ocean. You’re six miles from shore, you can’t really tell where the ocean stops and the white shore begins. All you see is white–and this thing where they’re dumping crap into the ocean to make this island,” says Dan Ritzman. “And, there, stuck in the ice, is a sign that says ‘No Trespassing’.”

It was 1999, the beginning of the climate movement. Oil companies had started to talk about green energy, but continued their dogged search for fossil fuel. At the time, Dan worked for Greenpeace, who was determined to expose that hypocrisy by any means necessary.

Today, we bring you the story of a Danish ex-special forces trainer, some very cold weather, some crooked State Troopers, a group of activists and the sometimes thin line between standing up for our wild places and adventuring in them.

Click here to see the video of Ulrik parachuting onto the frozen ocean.

Music: Your Pulse by Little Glass Men • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor by Chris Zabriskie • Brooks by Kai Engel • Orater General by The King in Yellow • Juno by Chronox • The Departure by nisei23 • Low Horizon by Kai Engel • Don’t Point That Gun at Me by Publish the Quest • Gotta Keep Movin by Publish the Quest • Original scores by Amy Stolzenbach

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and Free Music Archive

and our friends Jacob Bain and Amy Stolzenbach

Apr

Mileposts — The Miracle of Darkness

The Miracle of Darkness

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/256350786?secret_token=s-x4BX5″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“The sky above you goes on forever, and the landscape appears as endless as the sky. The world is expansive and you are tiny. All of your problems shrink down to the head of a pin,” writes Melina Coogan. “This is why places like this matter–places like Great Smoky Mountain National Park: they give us perspective.”

Just months after Melina got married, she walked out of a doctor’s office with a sobering health diagnosis. Today, for the second episode of our Mileposts series, we travel with her to Great Smoky National Park to see what perspective we can take home.

You can find more of Melina’s writing at: thewildercoast.com

Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Labyrinth by Kai Engel • Sunset by Kai Engel • paranoiaXI by The Fucked Up Beat • Something by Kai Engel • Past the Sun by The Cassettes • I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor by Chris Zabriskie

Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and Jacob Bain.

Mar

A Slosh in the Bucket

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/252715784″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Eric Johnson lives in Sturgis, South Dakota with his wife and three young daughters. He works as a high school English teacher. He’s responsible–well, most of the time.

Half way into his thirties, Eric emptied his retirement account to buy a raft, despite the fact that he lives in a state without any navigable whitewater. Just over a year later, he found something too good to be true: a group of experienced guides advertising an open spot on a pre-season trip down Idaho’s Main Salmon.

Today, we bring you the story of what happens when you ignore the red flags that pop up when something is actually too good to be true and of what it feels like to bob around in the bucket of someone else’s bucket list.

Music: Shine by Publish the Quest • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • Then What!? by Publish the Quest • Don’t Point That Gun At Me by Publish the Quest • The Introduction by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Right Wing Failure by Deadlinks • You Never Know Who You’re Gonna Meet by Publish the Quest • The Rent is Late by Publish the Quest • Sailor’s Lament by Jason Shaw