2024 FINISHED WITH two camps, one in the foothills, one up in the high country. They weren’t many miles apart in distance, but in character they belonged to different worlds entirely. I’ll be honest, both camps almost didn’t happen. Before deciding to go on each, before packing, I found myself struggling with motivation, which is […]
NATURE DOESN’T LIE. It doesn’t cheat. It doesn’t demonize. It doesn’t hate. It offers only honest truth. It is there, always. Reliably itself. Going back to nature isn’t an escape – it’s a return home, a return to the way all things ought to be, a return to truth and beauty and meaning. And it’s
Nature Doesn’t Lie Read More »
I’M THRILLED TO announce that High Summer: Backpacking the Canadian Rockies, by backpacker and author Chris Townsend, will be available for purchase on Amazon from November 1st 2024. This new and updated second edition of High Summer is being released through my independent publishing imprint, the Enchanted Rock Press. For those who missed my blogs
High Summer – Available November 1st! Read More »
AMONGST THE MANY trips I’ve taken this past winter eight of them have been to the same location, to a wild spot often overlooked: a forested ridge that rises above a broad pass. Returning to this place again and again has been a joy. In fact, going back has felt more joyful each time, like
Connections, Love, and an Igloo Read More »
LAST WEEKEND’S PLANNED night in the mountains almost fell through at the very last moment. The aim had been to return to an igloo I built months ago (an igloo I’ll blog about in due course) but a change in family circumstances just as I was preparing to leave home meant I’d have to return
The More You Go The Luckier You Get Read More »
I THOUGHT IT was high time I shared an update on Chris Townsend’s book, High Summer, to be republished this summer through my imprint, the Enchanted Rock Press. (Launch date to be confirmed, but watch this space!) Chris has been sorting through the 3,000 or so slides that he took during the journey, digitising a
High Summer – an update Read More »
I’M HONOURED AND THRILLED to announce that backpacker and author Chris Townsend has agreed to relaunch two of his books through my publishing imprint, the Enchanted Rock Press. The first of these books will be High Summer, to be released early this summer, 2024. I first came across Chris in 1988 when I
THE SUN DISAPPEARED behind the mountain at three twenty-seven in the afternoon. Prior to that, the day had been gloriously benign. There’d been warmth to bask in. Sunlight had dazzled off fresh snow. The ice that had built up inside my tent during the previous night had completely thawed away. Thermals had been removed, sleeves
IF YOU VISIT the same wild place often enough your perception of it will inevitably change. On a first visit, its essential characteristics and nature might seem clear – and possibly even ‘fixed’. After all, you’ve just seen and experienced it as it is. How could it ever be anything else? But after a fifth
A Cauldron of Swirling Cloud Read More »
‘ESCAPING’ INTO THE HILLS is not always easy. Perhaps you know what I mean? In a life that has responsibilities and commitments the hills often end up taking second place. Work, family and other practical realities can all-too-easily get in the way. And for good reasons of course – taking care of others is important.
A Snatched Night in the Hills Read More »