The Adventure Gap

Adventure Activism, Black Lives Matter, Breaking News, Climbing, Outdoor Recreation, The Adventure Gap / 21.04.2021

More people of color should be certified mountain guides. To lead in the spirit of that intention The Joy Trip Project is excited to announce the availability of the first Crenchaw Climbing Scholarship for an American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor Course. This opportunity is available to those over 18 years of age who identify as Black, Indigenous or a person of color. Best candidates must also be dedicated to advancing the diversity, equity and inclusion of outdoor recreation and environmental conservation as a wilderness guide or...

#BlackLivesMatter, Black In National Parks Week, Black Lives Matter, Book Review, Books, Diversity, Interview, National Parks, PBS, Podcast, The Adventure Gap, Yosemite / 05.03.2021

Even though we might be seeing the back end of the global Covid-19 Pandemic many of us are still stuck at home wading through endless meetings over Zoom and other teleconferencing platforms. With the hopes of creating a little community spirit and to encourage folks out there to step away from their screens and maybe crack open a book instead, I started a little group called the Joy Trip Reading Project. Each month we’re taking a deep dive into stories of primarily Black authors whose work centers around...

Commentary, Diversity, Everyone In A Park, Hiking, Ice Age Trail, National Forests, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Public Land, ReThinkOutside, The Adventure Gap, Wisconsin / 21.09.2020

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Immediately after breakfast, our little group sat discussing what would happen next. A steady rain had been falling since late the night before and the prospects of the hike we had planned appeared grim. Holding up my iPad I showed everyone an image of the local weather radar map. “As can see there’s a bit of window opening up,” I said pointing to a clear spot in a mass of swirling colors ranging from yellow/orange to deep red. “If we start now,...

An American Ascent, Commentary, Diversity, Essays, Grand Canyon, Magazines, National Geographic, National Parks, Public Land, The Adventure Gap, Yosemite / 14.07.2020

  HALFWAY INTO OUR two-week paddling trip through the Grand Canyon, my longtime friend Jim Moss had a sudden realization. After a thrilling day exploring limpid blue pools and towering waterfalls beneath the desert rim, we sat in beach chairs drinking ice-cold beer along the banks of the Colorado River.“You know? I’ve made more than 40 commercial guiding trips through this place,” he said. “In 25 years, I think you’re the first African American I’ve ever seen down here.”There’s a statistical reason for this: Although Black Americans represent 13.4...

#BlackLivesMatter, Adventure Film, Alaska, An American Ascent, Breaking News, Diversity, Film preview, Outdoors For All, The Adventure Gap / 02.07.2020

Thursday, July 9, 2020 will be the 56th Anniversary of Charles Madison Crenchaw’s historic summit of Denali. As the first Black person to reach the highest peak in North America this remarkable event is particularly significant because it occurred just seven days after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. Crenchaw’s climb of Denali personified the dream described a year earlier by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington. Through his skills as an alpinist and his strength of will, Crenchaw ascended...

Commentary, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Essays, Nelson Institute, Outdoors For All, ReThinkOutside, The Adventure Gap / 24.04.2020

Through the  hive-mind of social media I was reminded this morning on LinkedIn that yesterday was my third work anniversary at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Nelson Institute For Environmental Studies. It just so happened at that moment I was deep in thought on a series of 12 sessions I am preparing for my summer class called Outdoors For All. Over the course of four weeks my students and I take a long look back in time at the racial disparities that separate those who spend time in...