On our first afternoon backpacking in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, we saw a grizzly bear. We had just set up camp for the evening in a spruce grotto beside the river when people began animatedly gesturing to ascend the hill that opened up to a small meadow above camp. Upon cresting the hill, it took me

We were told that 30 yards is far too close to get to a grizzly. In Yellowstone, you need to be at least six school buses away from them. Our first day there, we got within one. On the second of July, we hiked about five miles from the Lamar Valley to our first campsite.

While backpacking during the first few weeks of my 2021 Conservation Across Boundaries course, my biggest internal debate was whether to look up or down. If I look up, I appreciate and take in the unbelievable views, but no more than three seconds later, I find myself tripping over a rock or a deep imprint

Mountains and meadows, rivers and flowers,  Thinking of landscapes I stare at for hours,  Great big white clouds and thunder that rings,  These are a few of my favorite things! Daily Journal Excerpt from 06-25-2021 Snowcrest Mountains, Mt.: “Today was a blur. I didn’t feel great for most of the day, but I have a

As we arrived at our campsite in Glacier National Park after a breathtaking ride over Logan Pass on the Continental Divide, I felt as though I was home. Glacier’s ecosystem is strikingly similar to that of my hometown of Breckenridge, CO. Both places are strikingly beautiful, yet prone to intense wildfires that are growing more

Day 1, Mile 1. I already had a white knuckle grip on my handlebar when I saw a gory dead deer on the shoulder, blocking my path. My option was to either swerve into traffic or go to the right of it and roll through deep gravel. The riders in front of me went through

Helen Augare-Carlson felt confused when she first heard the land acknowledgement of her alma mater, the University of Montana in Missoula. A Blackfeet educator, Augare expected a recognition of the relationships the Salish and Kalispel and the university have with the land the university now stands on. Instead, the statement declares that the land the

The early morning sun wrapped us in its warm light as we rode toward Choteau, Montana. As we crested a hill and came around a bend, we were greeted by a chorus of whinnying and stamping, as a herd of horses and mules matched our pace to escort us on our journey. I was thoroughly

My heart heavy, my mind intrigued, and my body attentive, I listened to Hal Herring tell a tale of America’s public lands. Details left and right—the Homestead Act, droughts, Dust Bowl, Great Depression, Clean Water Act—he built a narrative of the rise of America’s public lands but never left out the dark truth of America’s

We ambled through the fluorescent green tint of the dim concrete hallway. Further down, it was dark. Small streams of leaking water trickled down the tight, rough walls, making the air musty and cool. Small stalactites dangled from the ceiling through the cracks, an unstoppable buildup of calcium over the course of the last 103