The Fifty-Two Night Quest

Or, The Unexpected Benefits of Sleeping Without a Tent.

A perch with a view. Basking in early morning sunlight.

ONE OF MY goals this year (aside from successfully publishing The Earth Beneath My Feet) is to sleep out at least fifty-two times. That’s once every week on average. Fifty-two mountain nights. As quests go, it should be easy, right?

Once upon a time it would have been. Twenty-five years ago, sleeping outdoors was a common occurrence. A hundred nights a year...