Andrew Terrill's Blog, page 9

Some idiot forgot the bloody matches!

SPUR-OF-THE-MOMENT decisions can often be the best decisions we make. Throwing caution to the wind, acting on a whim, jumping upon an opportunity when it presents itself – what could be more adventurous, more freeing? The alternative – planning every detail minutely – can ruin a perfectly good adventure. Life is better when spontaneity is given room to breathe. Or so a wilderness wanderer named ‘Mad Mountain Jack’ once demonstrated to me with glorious abandon over an unforgettable 18 months.

Spu...

Book Review – The Nature Fix by Florence Williams

OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS I’ve been slowly reading an absolutely brilliant book: The Nature Fix – Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative.

Within its pages, Florence Williams explores the many ways nature benefits us cognitively, psychologically, physically and physiologically, doing so through immersive visits into natural environments around the world and even more so through encounters with scientists who are studying these benefits. Williams carefully examines what modern s...

Bad Weather – a celebration

THE FORECAST MIGHT have been off-putting. The scientists up at NOAA were predicting severe thunderstorms in the mountains, not as a possibility but as an absolute certainty. Lightning was likely, torrential rain extremely probable, and even flash floods were on the cards. From the look of it, rain was going to be falling from the moment I stepped into the hills until the moment I left them.

Which was why I went.

It’s been warm down in the foothills, as one might expect for late July. I’ve only ...

Book Review: Along the Divide by Chris Townsend

An enjoyable, fascinating and thought-provoking read by an author who truly knows his subject.

I love going for long walks, as followers of my blog surely know by now! I especially love walks that last for weeks or months and follow routes few others have followed. But when I can’t go myself I love reading about such walks, especially when they are described with the passion, honesty and insight that Chris Townsend brings to his book, Along the Divide.

 

Chris Townsend has dedicated most of hi...

I wouldn’t change a thing

I SHARE MY LIFE with Joan, my wife. She is an extraordinary person. Warm-hearted and tolerant. She is the adult in the partnership, competent at dealing with life’s complexities in a considered and practical way. Without Joan there probably wouldn’t be a roof over my family’s head or funds for clothes and food. Well, not from my writer’s salary, anyway! (Nor from my mountain wanderer’s head-in-the-clouds approach to living.) I’m beyond lucky to have her in my life. For so many reasons. Too many ...

Cloud Watching

I SPENT MUCH of last week cloud watching, lazy chap that I am. From a remote vantage point beneath Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains I spent five days doing little but watching clouds form, drift about, and then fade away. To some people, such a pastime probably sounds dull in the extreme. But to me – honestly – the five days couldn’t have been better spent.

Cloud cap sitting behind the crest of the Sangre de Cristos, and occasionally spilling over it.

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains have alw...

Gratitude, Not Discomfort

IN LAST WEEK’S BLOG I mentioned backpacking discomforts. I commented on how photos of backpacking trips seldom show them. I suggested that backpacking photos lie because of it.

I was thinking about it again during this week’s outing, a single overnight trip in the Colorado foothills with good friend, Igloo Ed. The discomforts of backpacking were especially prominent when we had to vacate our exposed summit camp at midnight after lightning flashed across the sky. Relocating in the dark, and then ...

My Photos Lie

THE PHOTOS LIE – especially mine. Or so I have suddenly realized as I look back at the photos of my most recent walk (a two-night tour through Colorado’s James Peak Wilderness). I mean, the images do show some truth. They show places that really exist and conditions as they really were. But they also lie. They only show the tiniest part of the tiniest fraction of what the walk was.

They lie by omission. They lie because they only show a few brief moments. They lie because no image can ever get ...

The Perfect ‘Spring’ Camp

A MONTH AGO, on May 11, I set out for a short overnight trip. It was to become one of the most unforgettable ‘spring’ camps I’ve ever made.

Conditions were cold and wet down in Golden, and up in the mountains snow was still piling up. In fact, the snowpack was as deep as it had been all winter. From a slow start it had reached 115% of normal. The forecast called for heavy afternoon and evening snow, possibly thunder, but then clearing clouds after midnight. Arguably, I should have stayed home –...

The Laughter Camp

I FINALLY SHARED a mountain night with one of my offspring this last weekend. Pretty late in the year, but goodness was it worth the wait!

My approach to getting my children into the outdoors has always been gentle – to not force it. We’ve all seen parents dragging reluctant kids on walks, which never looks like a positive experience for either child or parent. Or for others who witness the drama! As I see it, dragging children into the outdoors kicking and screaming will only lead to two things...