Madison

Adventure Activism, Charitable Giving, Commentary, Environmental Protection, Ice Age Trail, Kids in Nature, Madison, National Forests, National Parks, Outdoors For All, Public Land, The Pathways Project, U.S. Forest Service, Urban Parks, Walking, Wisconsin / 03.06.2019

Much of the joy in my life I owe to the generosity of strangers. The advent of social media has merely expanded my capacity for building relationships with people I hardly know. For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed the benefits of an existence vulnerable to the whims of fate. With a vague notion of what the future lay in store, I’ve pretty much trusted in the naive belief that everything will just work out for the best. Many of my adventures have been made possible...

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Hiking, Ice Age Trail, Madison / 01.04.2019

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time at home. Most weekends you can find me exploring the Ice Age National Scenic Trail at a variety of different access points, some less than a 20 minute drive from my house in Madison, Wisconsin. Tracing the pathway of a receding glacier from the Pleistocene Epoch, which ended about 11,000 years ago, the IAT spans more than 1,200 miles. It passes through dozens of communities, large and small, across the state of Wisconsin and connects our people with a common...

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Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Children In Nature Initiative, Essays, Kids in Nature, Madison / 24.03.2019

When did your love of the outdoors first begin? If you’re anything like me, you don’t remember. Even having grown up in a big city like Los Angeles, California, spending time outside was such a big part of my life that I can’t really say exactly when it all started. My parents made it a priority for me to have regular access to nature through hikes in local parks and camping trips to nearby wilderness areas. From a very young age my life included many opportunities for me...

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Books, Commentary, Diversity, Essays, Madison, Outdoors For All, River Restoration, Special Events, Wisconsin / 08.11.2018

  At the end of October I had the great honor and privilege to host a distinguished guest to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Author and explorer Eddy L. Harris made a rare appearance on campus to share his experiences paddling the Mississippi River from its source in Lake Itasca, Minnesota to its terminus in the Gulf of Mexico at the City of New Orleans. Depicted in his film “River to the Heart” Eddy paints an intimate portrait of what awaits those willing to venture out into the unknown...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Adventure Film, Commentary, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, Madison, Public Land / 01.10.2018

Over the weekend I had the distinct privilege of hosting a panel discussion. The CapTimes Idea Fest is annual gathering in Madison where local thought leaders share their expertise on a variety of different topics. Ranging from the current state of Wisconsin politics and early childhood education through racial equality and the cultural significance of the musical Hamilton, more than 1,300 members of our community came together so that they might better understand the pressing issues of modern times.  The panel I moderated was titled Wisconsin’s Environment and Communities...

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Cycling, Expedition Denali, Madison, River Restoration, The Adventure Gap / 06.09.2018

In 2014, Mary Ann Thomas bicycled solo across the US and Canada. In 2017, She peddled across India with a travel partner and connected with local bike communities in cities across the nation. Accessing these cycling havens in India provided examples of community that she, a brown queer daughter of Indian immigrants, had only rarely seen in the US bike world. On September 15, 2018 her remarkable experience is the subject of a most compelling evening of community story sharing in Madison, Wisconsin at Café Domestique and the...

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