The Weekly Digest | Indie Outdoors

Ghosts of Glen Canyon

A reflective essay tracing the author's decade-long exploration of Glen Canyon through the stories and legacy of those who knew the Colorado River before the dam was built. The piece weaves personal narrative with historical reverence, using archival voices to guide backcountry journeys through this transformed landscape.

Gus Scott with his father, Gus Scott Sr., 1959. Kane Creek. Photo via Gus Scott (and shared on Tom Martin’s Facebook tribute.) For almost a decade, I’ve been following ghosts through Glen Canyon. My backcountry travels are guided not by destinations, but by the stories recorded by the men and women who loved this landscape of gilded sandstone and muddy water. Most who experienced the Colorado River before Glen Canyon Dam have long been deceased, yet I’ve developed unusual friendships with many of these spirits who have kept me company on solo explorations. In the process, I failed to face an e

The Growth Equation Newsletter·Oct 1·run

How Do You Run on a Torn Achilles?

A compelling narrative about marathoner Tigst Assefa's extraordinary performance at the Berlin Marathon, where she tore her Achilles tendon in the final mile yet still secured a course record through sheer determination. The piece captures both the dramatic athletic feat and the visceral human element of pushing through injury.

On Sunday, Tigst Assefa ran the third-fastest marathon in history, winning the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04. But that doesn’t tell half of it. With just over a mile to go Assefa was ahead of world record pace, projected to run an astonishing 2:09:45. Then, she started to limp, significantly slowing but gutting it over the final mile and change to hang on for a new course record. Did she run out of fuel, hit the wall just before the finish line, pay the price of an early push? Nope…she tore her Achilles tendon. For the last 1.4 miles, as her manager put it, “She was effectively running on one leg

Climbing Zine·Oct 2·climb

Climbing En Plein Air by Birch Malotky

A lyrical, introspective essay about climbing at the edge of a rim, opening with a sensory moment of approach and a Le Guin epigraph that sets a poetic tone about renewal and the act of climbing itself.

The dance of renewal, the dance that made the world, was always danced here at the edge of things… —Ursula K. Le Guin, Dancing at the Edge of The World Note: this story is published in Volume 15 of The Climbing Zine My first sense of it is auditory. I am walking toward the rim, eyes straining to see over an edge I can’t yet comprehend beyond expectation, when I hear a noise… Source

Paddling The Blue Podcast·Oct 5·paddle

#175-57 Days Around Lake Superior: Conny Simes Solo Sea Kayak Odyssey encore

A podcast interview with a sea kayaker about her 57-day solo circumnavigation of Lake Superior, covering landscapes, logistics, weather, personal recovery from a chronic condition, and practical expedition advice.

Today's episode is an encore presentation of my June 2024 interview with Conny Simes about her 57‑day, 1,134‑mile solo circumnavigation of Lake Superior. Conny describes the changing landscapes—from the Apostle Islands and Pictured Rocks to the remote Pukaskwa coast—along with the logistics, weather, and resupply challenges she faced. The episode also explores how the journey supported Conny’s personal recovery while managing Ehlers‑Danlos syndrome, the people she met, safety lessons, and practical advice for paddlers planning their own expeditions. Learn: Lake Superior map What are Agates? Cr

The Trek·Oct 4·hike

Opinion: I Hate This Roadless Area on the PCT. Help Me Protect It

A guest essay arguing for protection of a roadless area on the PCT despite the author's personal dislike of it, framed as a response to potential changes to federal conservation rules. A thoughtful advocacy piece with a clear stake and voice.

This is a guest post by Josh Sanders, a PCT thru-hiker with a background in environmental policy. t may sound strange, but I’m going to spend the next few minutes trying to convince you to protect a part of what I will unabashedly call my least favorite section of the entire PCT. Bear with me. You may have heard that the Trump Administration is rescinding the Roadless Rule. This could impact hundreds of miles of trail along the PCT, ... The post Opinion: I Hate This Roadless Area on the PCT. Help Me Protect It appeared first on The Trek .

Shangrilogs·Oct 4·travel

Questions to fall back in love with a place - #223

A reflective personal essay about finding meaning and attachment to a place lacking consumer amenities and retail abundance. The author explores what falling back in love with a location means when it doesn't offer the typical material comforts and shopping experiences of more developed areas.

There are no HomeGoods stores within one hundred miles of my house. In this town, there’s no Target, no World Market, no IKEA, no Anthropologie Home. There’s no place to wake up on the first forty-degree morning in September and buy three ochre throw pillows, a woven basket, and a ceramic pumpkin that says PSL Parking in script. There’s also no compelling thrifting, antiquing, or even Marketplace. I’d love to stroll architectural salvage, open old drawers, come home with a mirror so heavy it’s considered a risk on my life insurance, but the antiquing here is limited to mining detritus, and I p

Bikepacking.com·Oct 3·bike

Alma Andina: A Journey Into the Soul of the Andes

A personal account of completing the high-altitude Alma Andina bikepacking route in Peru, where the rider confronted physical limits and had to adapt when gear failed. The piece explores themes of resilience and letting go of predetermined expectations in remote mountain terrain.

High in the Peruvian Andes, the 620-kilometer Alma Andina pushed Poli Berber across 5,000-meter passes, remote dirt roads, and far beyond the race she’d imagined. When altitude, exhaustion, and a failed derailleur threatened to end her ride, she discovered that moving forward sometimes means letting go of the plan. Find her written recap, a route map, and a video made along the way here... The post Alma Andina: A Journey Into the Soul of the Andes appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com .

The Bikepacking Journal·Oct 3·bike

Alma Andina: A Journey Into the Soul of the Andes

A bikepacking racer reflects on completing the 620-kilometer Alma Andina route in Peru, confronting altitude, mechanical failure, and the need to surrender her original expectations—a personal essay about resilience and adaptation in extreme terrain.

Our Public Lands & Waters·Oct 2·conservation

Public Backlash Stops MLB Stadium in Grand Teton National Park, Which Was An Absurd Notion to Begin With

A commentary piece criticizing an absurd proposal to build an MLB stadium in Grand Teton National Park, featuring an expert quote about the PR disaster such a development would represent. The author's voice is clear and the piece engages with a legitimate public lands controversy, though the snippet cuts off before developing the full argument.

“I think it’d be a nightmare from a public relations standpoint, for MLB to be seen as wanting to come in and tear up a national park to build a baseball field for one game.” - Rob Wallace, Teton County resident and former Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the first Trump administration. Early-morning view of the Teton Range from Blacktail Ponds, Grand Teton National Park. Author photo. On Saturday, September 28, The Washington Post broke a story about something I can only describe as the most preposterous public lands proposal I’ve ever heard in my entire life: building a baseball park f

RE:Public·Oct 2·conservation

If Doug Burgum Got a Performance Review

A satirical performance review of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, critiquing his controversial initiatives including fossil fuel promotion, mandatory lease sales, and proposed developments in national parks like a baseball stadium in Teton.

Hi, Doug, come on in! Please, make yourself comfortable. We appreciate you making the time. We know your calendar is packed, what with all the "clean coal" promotion, those mandated lease sales no one shows up to, the baseball stadium in Teton National Park , and, well, the reflecting pool. Ha! [Slaps him on that back] I'm just messing with you, Doug! Look, we realize it’s unprecedented to get a performance review as a cabinet secretary, but you’re coming up on your two-year anniversary as head of Interior. It's been a little rocky, so we thought now would be a helpful time to give you some fe

Live From California with Lloyd Kahn·Oct 1·fish

Why Bolinas is Fighting the Environmentalists

Lloyd Kahn investigates a conflict between Bolinas locals and an environmental group pushing for coastal fishing restrictions, framing the dispute as overreach against a self-reliant community's livelihoods and food production.

Over the past year or so, I’ve had on my journalism hat and been investigating the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, prompted by their petitions to the California Fish and Game Commission to increase restrictions on some six-plus miles of our coast that will make some of our local fishing (and gathering) illegal. It’s a very tangled issue where we — the vast majority of locals and businesses — are opposed to the EAC’s attempted interference in our lives. (Bolinas is a famously green, self-reliant town that is a significant producer of vegetables and fish in the San Francisco Bay Ar

Soundwalk·Oct 1·hike

Panthertown Valley

A detailed exploration of Panthertown Valley, a 6,311-acre wilderness area in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, that examines its granite features and how it compares to the popular "Yosemite of the East" marketing label.

Panthertown Valley is a relatively small 6311-acre wilderness area in Nantahala National Forest in western North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a little bit off the beaten track, but far from obscure, as the old promoter’s trick of slapping the label “Yosemite of the East” seems to have piqued interest over the decades. The Yosemite comparison owes itself to the granite features of the mountains that surround the valley. Proto-Half Domes, I guess. These smooth outcrops are a far cry from El Capitan, but they do possess a distinct character. Unlike the tectonic uplift and glacial s

More Than Just Parks·Oct 1·conservation

9,000-Acre Nuclear-Powered Data Center Proposed on Public Lands in Utah

A nuclear startup's proposal to build a massive 9,000-acre data center complex on Utah public lands raises conservation concerns and has prompted new federal legislation. The piece reports on the project as part of a newly launched National Data Center Tracker, establishing the urgency and scale of the issue.

Yesterday morning we launched our National Data Center Tracker , and within hours we had a major new project to add to it as well as legislation aimed at preventing projects like it from being built on federal public lands. The ground is moving fast. NPR reported Wednesday that nuclear startup Valar Atomics is proposing a massive data center complex on more than 9,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land near Price, Utah. The project, called Project Beehive, would include data centers powered by roughly 456 small nuclear reactors, along with a facility to produce nuclear fuel and facilities

Endurance Essentials·Oct 1·run

How To Train - Chapter Twenty

A training log entry examining the tactical value of racing a 5K during ultra-marathon preparation, using competitive atmosphere and heart-rate feedback as diagnostic tools for fitness and fatigue.

At the Unicorn 5K event. Day 1,098 – 5K Race (19:09, 157 bpm) Why run a 5K race when training for an ultra? There are several reasons. First, the crowd makes it easy to get my heart rate up. In training, to get my heart rate over 150 bpm requires me to spend mojo. At the running race, all I need to do is follow the crowd and let my natural competitive instincts do the work. Second, if my heart rate doesn’t come up, or if my effort feels unusually difficult for the pace, then I know I’m carrying more fatigue than I realized. This 5K was placed in the middle of an unload block prior to an Italia

Semi Rad·Oct 1·general

10 Things I Learned From Interviewing 40 Dads

Drawing from interviews conducted over two years for a new book, the author shares ten lessons learned from forty fathers about parenthood, blending personal child-raising experience with wisdom from subjects. A listical format tied to published work and genuine reporting.

During my past four years of my rookie season of child-raising, I have frequently reminded myself, “They said this was going to happen.” Or, “Someone told me about this exact thing/feeling/challenge.” Because I had interviewed 40 dads over a period of about two years, I had so many bits of their wisdom and their stories rattling around in my head. And it turns out they were right about many, many things. Since those interviews are now public as of the launch of my book So Far, So Good: 40 Dads Talk About Becoming Parents and How They Figured It Out , I thought I’d share a handful of my favorit

Gripped·Oct 2·climb

Mount Arapiles Climbing Bans Dramatically Scaled Back After Years of Pressure

After seven years of advocacy, climbing bans at Mount Arapiles in Australia have been dramatically reduced from sweeping restrictions to a token 2% of routes.

After seven years of pressure on rock climbers in Western Victoria, Australia, the authorities have today walked back sweeping bans on rock climbing at Mount Arapiles, to introduce only a token ban, representing approximately 2 per cent of the rock climbing routes at this popular State Park. The changes are listed in the document you can find here . This climb-down has come after sustained public pressure against Parks Victoria, the responsible authority managing this issue. When extensive Arapiles climbing and walking bans were first proposed in November 2024, the CEO and several executives w

Run Long, Run Healthy·Oct 1·run

Lactate is NOT the Enemy

A runner and physiologist challenges the long-held myth that lactate causes muscle fatigue and burning, explaining lactate's actual role as fuel and signaling molecule. The piece draws on podcast conversation and expands on previous newsletter content.

Greetings! I recently joined John Gay on The Shakeout Podcast to talk about performance supplements. Before long, we found ourselves revisiting a familiar villain known as lactate. I expanded on some of my thoughts from that conversation in my other newsletter, Physiologically Speaking , and thought I’d share that piece here since it’s incredibly relevant to runners! Enjoy. For decades, lactate was blamed for burning legs and muscle fatigue. Now the pendulum has swung in the other direction (as things tend to do in this space). Lactate is a fuel, a signaling molecule… and it might even be some

The Mountains are Calling·Oct 3·camp

Things I carried in the backcountry

A nostalgic listicle of oddball gear and food choices from the author's early backcountry trips, told with humor and self-deprecating charm. The piece trades practical advice for personal memoir and entertainment value.

Potatoes. Yes, potatoes! We wrapped them in foil and cooked them over a fire on the Florida trail. (We had just spent the entire day sloshing through knee deep water. Wildfires were not a concern.) In my defense, I was twenty-two, and they were delicious. Canned apple juice. In my dad's old external frame pack. In Utah, somewhere. I don't know. I was eighteen. A cotton sweatshirt. In the cold, often thunderstormy mountains. In my defense, fleece was heavy back then. The sweatshirt was pink and had sheep on it. I loved it. Not sure what happened to it. A fancy dress. We had skied into a cabin p